"Yolko!" Keita yelled where she fell.
The rest of them looked out the window and they spotted a robed figure on a far away rooftop.
Without wasting a moment, Ducker jumped out the window and onto the rooftop to give chase.
"Keep him safe!" Kirito yelled as he jumped after him.
Quickly, everyone did so by surrounding Schmitt as the two boys pursued the attacker.
Pulling out some throwing knives, Ducker threw them at the robed figure, however due to the distance, and his relative lack of experience with them compared to his mentor Kirito, he couldn't aim properly and they missed their target.
As he was catching up to his friend, Kirito noticed the man pull out a dark blue crystal.
"He's got a crystal!" he yelled breathlessly to his guildmate.
As soon as he heard that, Ducker put on an extra burst of speed, almost reaching a speed that would rival Asuna's.
Nearly reaching the figure, he jumped at him to catch him.
However the cloaked figure disappeared, leaving an explosion of polygons in his place before the boy could reach him.
"Oh shit!" Ducker yelled as he began to fall to the ground.
But before he hit the ground he suddenly stopped but he felt a harsh pressure on his neck.
Looking up, he saw Kirito holding on to his cloak with one hand while the other gripped the edge of the rooftop.
Once he stopped swinging, he lightly slapped Kirito's hand, telling him to let him go, as it was only a few metres to the ground where he landed on his feet.
Kirito jumped down as well, landing a metre away.
The two boys gave each other a look of disappointment.
"He got away," Ducker recapped.
"He got away," Kirito agreed.
They walked back to the inn, thinking of what could have just happened.
As they reached the place where Yolko fell, they noticed that the knife that killed her was still on the ground.
Ducker picked it up and put it in his inventory as evidence.
"Hey, thanks for saving me, Kirito," Ducker said as they walked up the staircase back to the room. "That's just another thing I owe you."
Kirito smiled in response. "Hey, we're guildmates," he reminded him, "that's just what we do."
Even though he had been a part of the Moonlit Black Cats for quite some time, he still couldn't help but find it strange how it was to be appreciated for such things.
It's a nice feeling.
As soon as they opened the door, they were greeted by the startled looks of their guild who all had their weapons out.
Quickly recognizing them, Sachi put her sword to the side to run forward and hug Kirito tightly.
He hugged her back before giving Keita a disappointed shake of his head.
"You two did your best," Keita consoled them.
Someone else was not as sympathetic toward them. "You idiots! What's wrong with you two?" Asuna scolded them. "Well, what happened?"
"We lost him," Kirito said.
"He teleported off somewhere before we could catch him," Ducker finished.
Everyone felt a sense of regret and guilt, having been unable to keep Yolko safe.
"The system's supposed to protect players inside inns. I thought, if anywhere, she'd be safe in here. Damn it!" Kirito yelled as he punched the wall, making a small message reading «Immortal Object» appear.
"That robe was Griselda's!" Schmitt yelled. "That was Griselda's ghost! She's come back to get revenge on us. Think about it, only a ghost can PK someone in a safe zone!"
Everyone felt themselves shutter, considering the possibility that it really was a ghost.
We aren't safe! Sachi's panic began to rise. We aren't safe anywhere!
All of a sudden, Sachi felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder, briefly calming her down with just the touch.
"That wasn't a ghost." Kirito declared. "Someone's using the system to kill. That's the only way these murders could've happened in a safe zone. I know it!"
Although they had their doubts, everyone nodded, hoping that he was right.
Eventually they left the inn, leaving Schmitt in the room with the instruction not to leave for his safety. As they walked, they could only think of what had happened and considered the possibility that it really was Griselda's ghost.
After some time, the party found themselves at a fountain. Sitting at the benches they thought of the situation so far.
"Do you guys think it could be a ghost?" Tetsuo threw out the question.
"It's not impossible," Asuna considered. "Given what's happened so far, we can't rule it out."
Could it be possible? Sachi asked herself. Coming back after death… It would confirm that death is certain in this world then.
"Ghost or not, that doesn't change the fact that players may not be safe even if they're in a safe zone," Ducker pointed out.
As they spoke, she started to tremble, afraid of any answer that may arise.
Noting her fear, Kirito put his hand on hers to calm her down.
Smiling gratefully, she decided to take everyone's mind off the subject.
"Worrying about it isn't going to help," Sachi said as she pulled out 7 boxes from her storage. "Let's take our minds off it for a while." As she spoke, she gave each of her guildmates a box of their favourite foods.
"Food always helps," Ducker proclaimed as he opened his box and immediately started shoveling food into his mouth.
"It's true," Kirito said as he opened his own box which contained a very large sandwich.
"Let's eat!" the Moonlit Black Cats called together.
"Would you like a sandwich or bento," Sachi asked Asuna as she presented 2 boxes to her.
"I don't need food…" she said hesitantly. However the aromas coming from the boxes made her waver.
"Please," Sachi insisted. "You're our guest so we should treat you well."
"Urgh," Asuna grunted, unable to keep resisting under the smell and her insistence.
"Fine! Give me a bento box!" she griped.
She quickly dug in and stuffed a bit in her mouth.
As soon as she got a taste of Sachi's home cooking, her expression lit up.
Unable to help herself, she stuffed more into her mouth.
"This is amazing!" she proclaimed. "How high is your cooking skill?"
"It's pretty high," Sachi said bashfully. "Actually, it's almost maxed out."
For some reason, she felt like it was easy to talk to Asuna now.
"It's mostly a side-effect of having to cook for six people every day."
"And we appreciate every meal," Ducker called over.
"I know," she replied. "Although they sometimes give me grief over 'wasting my skill slots' as they put it," she said to Asuna.
"Hey, cooking skills are not a waste," Asuna declared as she shot nasty looks to the boys. "Especially if you can make food like this! This is far better than any restaurant in Aincrad!"
She smiled as she looked down at her own food.
It was only natural that she knew how to cook so well. She thought back to her home in the real world. Oftentimes, she would cook for herself and her mother whenever she had to work extra hours.
"Do we have any extra?" Kirito asked her, shaking her from her thoughts of another life.
"Sorry, Kirito, I didn't pack as much today," she apologized.
Looking down at her already emptied box, Asuna realized that she took the extra that Sachi had probably brought for Kirito.
Quickly, she went through her inventory and pulled out a sandwich and tore it in half.
"Here," she offered each of the halves to Kirito and Sachi.
They looked at the sandwich halves, caught off guard by the gesture.
"You don't have to…" Sachi hesitated.
"Take it," Asuna insisted. "I owe you for the meal."
Unable to resist, she took the sandwich half and looked at it carefully. It was extremely well crafted and it gave off a mouth watering aroma.
"Eat quickly," she urged them, "breaking it did a number on its durability."
"How high is your cooking skill?" Sachi asked before taking a bite out of it. As soon as she did, her mouth was filled with wonderful flavours.
"Nearly maxed out," Asuna informed her.
"Well it's great!" Sachi proclaimed as she ate it quickly.
"Sure it's great," Kirito commented after he took a bite. "But I think yours is way better, Sachi."
She looked down as she blushed.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Yup, nothing beats a meal from your girlfriend, right Kirito?" Ducker teased him. "Sorry, VC!"
At those mocking words, Asuna let out a killing intent that sent a chill down everyone's spines.
Turning to Ducker with a terrifying aura, she smiled at him with closed eyes. "Be careful of how you speak Ducker…" He immediately regretted telling her his name. "You don't know what enemies your words can make."
He tried to smile in response, only for it to come out a bit lopsided, showing his fear.
As she continued to smile, she got up quickly and stood in front of Ducker. She reached forward and grabbed his shoulders lightly, making him cringe in her hands.
Everyone jumped back, afraid of the major KI she was putting out.
And that's when it happened.
As Sachi jumped back, she accidently hit Kirito's arm, making him drop the rest of his sandwich.
It hit the ground and shattered into polygons.
Kirito bent down to the ground and took a look at where the sandwich disappeared.
"That's it…" he whispered.
"Dude, are you mourning the sandwich?" Keita asked him, a little weirded out.
"Well that's what he gets for not eating it when he had the chance," Sasamaru teased him.
"No, no I'm not," Kirito denied them, "I mean a little, it was an extremely good sandwich, but I think I know what happened."
"What do you mean?! What did you figure out?" Asuna asked desperately.
"I... We... never actually saw a thing. We just thought we did. But we really saw something else. There never was a weapon or any kind of logic that would allow killing within the safe areas!"
Everyone crowded around him, wondering exactly what he was trying to say.
Floor 19: Cross Field
Despite the advice from the Moonlit Black Cats, Schmitt did not stay in the inn for his protection.
Instead, he decided to visit Griselda's grave.
"Griselda..." He was kneeling underneath a large tree, under which her grave was located.
"The only way I can survive is with your forgiveness. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!"
It wasn't just fear making him ask for forgiveness, it was genuine guilt as well
"Forgive me, Griselda!" he yelled as he bowed entirely. "I never imagined this would happen!"
There was silence when he finally finished voicing his repentance.
"Really?" a female voice asked out of no where.
Schmitt opened his eyes at the sound.
"Really? Really?" it continued.
He continued to tremble. All of a sudden, he heard a sound from behind him. Turning his head to the source of the noise he saw…
A rabbit.
"Phew." Letting out a sigh of relief, he didn't even notice the movement in front of him.
When he turned back to the grave, he had to stifle a scream when he saw the cloaked figure in front of him.
"What did you do?" The figure asked.
"What did you do to me, Schmitt?"
Overcome with fear and guilt, he bowed to the figure as he answered it.
"I... I only... The day we decided to sell the ring, a note and crystal just appeared in my belt pouch, and the note told me to..."
"Who told you?" This time it was a male voice. "Who told you to?"
Looking up, he saw another cloaked figure floating in.
"Grimlock?" he asked the figure. "You're dead, too?"
"Who? Who gave you these orders?
"I-I honestly don't know!" he answered as he shook his head. "The note just said to bind the crystal to the room where she was staying, so they could enter, and then to put the crystal in the guild's shared storage..."
"And?"
"That was all I did! I never meant to get her killed. Believe me... Please!"
The figures did not answer as he bowed to them while trembling.
"We recorded all of that, Schmidt," the female figure said.
Looking up, the terrified man saw the faces of his two guildmates whom he believed to be dead.
"Th-They're alive?!" Tetsuo exclaimed.
"Yeah, I think they're alive," Kirito informed him. "Both Yolko and Kains."
"B-But... how is that possible?! We watched them die right in front of us!" Sasamaru exclaimed.
"Inside a safe zone, player HP won't just drop," Kirito reminded them of one of the rules of this world. "But an object's durability will."
"Like with that sandwich," Sachi whispered, starting to get the idea. "Back then, Kains's armour was also pierced by that spear."
"The spear was draining the armor's durability, not Kains's HP," Keita realized.
"Th-Then, what fell apart was..." Asuna realized. "It was just his armor."
"And at the exact moment it did, Kains teleported away," Sasamaru guessed.
"And the effect of teleporting is incredibly similar to that of someone's death," Ducker realized, remembering both the armour shattering and the assassin teleporting before he could catch him.
"But it's still different," Kirito said.
"Ok, fine, but then how did Yolko fake her death so well?" Sasamaru inquired.
Kirito paused to think about it before answering. "Probably, the dagger was already in her the whole time she spoke with us," he said.
"The entire time?!" Keita exclaimed in shock.
"That's right," Ducker realized. "Remember... During her entire stay, she never turned her back to us. And as she was talking, she must've been keeping an eye on her equipment's endurance."
"At the right moment, she acted as though a dagger, thrown from outside, had stabbed her," Tetsuo concluded.
"Which means the person in the black robe..." Sachi considered.
"I'd lay good odds that it isn't Grimlock," Kirito said. "It's Kains."
"Those two must have realized that they could use this method to fake their own deaths."
"And their goal was to draw out the one responsible for the ring murder," Sachi concluded.
"They acted out their own deaths to create an illusionary avenger," Asuna said in disbelief.
"They must have already been somewhat suspicious of Schmitt," Keita considered.
"Hey, VC, you still have Yolko friended, don't you?" Ducker asked.
Realizing that this was indeed true, she opened her menu and checked her friend list for Yolko.
"She's in the field, on Floor 19. On a small hill, just outside the town."
"I see," Kirito said. "Let's leave the rest up to them. Our role in this case is finished."
But even as he said that, he knew that nobody here was willing to just leave the case as is.
Yolko and Kains stood over Schmitt, a recording crystal in the formers hand.
"R-Recorded?" he looked at the blue crystal. "So that's how it is," he said as he slumped down. "You cared that much about Griselda."
"You didn't hate her, either, did you?" Kains asked.
"O-Of course not... Believe me!" Schmitt answered frantically. "True... The rare weapon I bought let me clear the Holy Dragon Alliance's entry requirements, but..."
All of a sudden, he fell to the ground in a prone position.
There was a knife in his shoulder. He took a look at his HP gauge and saw a yellow lightning bolt symbol next to the gauge.
"Paralysis?"
"One down!" a voice spoke cheerfully.
A man in a tattered black coat squatted down to him.
At the same time, another man in a tattered black coat held a sword to Yolko.
"Are these guys...?" Schmitt asked in fear.
"This is a big catch," a voice said behind him. "A Holy Dragon Alliance leader."
"The guild of murderers, «Laughing Coffin»," Schmitt realized in horror when he saw the symbol on his glove.
The third man didn't bother to acknowledge him, instead he thought of what to do to them.
"Now, then... what game shall we play?"
"Let's do that one thing, boss..." called the one who threw the knife. "The game where they kill each other, and only the winner survives!"
"Last time we did that, you killed the survivor anyway," the boss said, unimpressed at the suggestion.
"Awwww!" The knife thrower whined. "If you say that now, we can't have a game, boss!"
"All right," the boss said emotionlessly. "Let's get started."
He brought up his weapon, which resembled a meat cleaver and was about to bring it down on Schmitt's head.
However, before the PKers could do anything, they were interrupted by the sound of galloping.
Turning to the source of the noise, they saw a black horse approaching. On it, they could see a person dressed entirely in black riding it.
They jumped to the side to avoid the stampeding beast.
"Missed them!" they heard somebody call.
The horse came to a stop and the rider in black jumped off. Not even bothering to turn to his enemies, he raised his hands to help a girl dressed in a blue tunic and silver armour off its back.
"Guess we made it just in time..." Kirito said once he put Sachi on the ground.
"Yo, PoH." he called to the leader of the PKers. "Long time no see. You're still in that strange get-up."
As he mocked him, Sachi helped Sasamaru dismount. In truth, they were both afraid of what they got themselves into.
"...I don't want to be told that by you," the man he called «PoH» responded.
"I see you're not just a solo player anymore," he took note of his companions. "Brought your girlfriend with you, I see."
The girl in question did not meet his gaze, too afraid of him to even try to be intimidating.
"Careful," one of PoH's partners said. "That bitch is more dangerous than she lets on."
I know that voice… Sachi realized.
Suddenly, she was remembering an incident;
She was in a field. Under her was a boy in a cloak who couldn't move away but still stared at the scene.
Her sword was cutting through someone who had just tried to stab the boy. At the same time somebody was laughing despite the fact that it was his comrade who was dying.
"So what will you do?" the voice brought her back to the present.
"I have backup on the way," Kirito went on. "You wouldn't be able to last against the three of us, so do you really want to fight thirty people from the lead group?"
He emphasized his point by drawing his weapon. A moment later, his companions did the same with their sword and lance.
Kirito and PoH glared at each other for some time, challenging the other to make their move.
Suddenly, PoH snapped his fingers to tell his lackeys to stand down and twirled his weapon into its holder.
"Let's go," he said simply. "But be warned," he was directing his voice towards Kirito, "no matter where you go, you won't escape «Laughing Coffin»."
"Looks, cool there. Next time, I will ride on a horse, to hunt you down," one of the PKers said under his breath.
All three members of Laughing Coffin walked into the fog.
Once they were finally out of sight, the three who arrived let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm glad I was able to see you again, Yolko," Kirito said as he put away his sword.
The woman looked at him, as if she couldn't believe what he was saying.
"I planned to apologize, once everything was over," Yolko spoke apologetically. "But I can't expect you to believe me."
"Kirito..." Schmitt called to him after Sachi cured him with an antidote. "Thank you for saving me, but how did you know that those three would attack here?"
"I didn't," Kirito answered. "I just thought it was a possibility. Also, my partymates insisted we check up on you guys just in case." He shot a look at Sachi and Sasamaru. "Seriously though, if I knew that I'd see PoH here, I may not have come at all."
"Sure, you wouldn't," Sachi teased him in a whisper. "The great hero wouldn't have left anyone to die."
Her companions smiled in response before turning back to the people whom they came to protect.
"Hey, Kains... Yolko," Sasamaru got their attention. "You asked Grimlock to make those two weapons?"
The two looked at each other in surprise, shocked that they were able to figure out what they did.
"At first, he didn't seem willing," Yolko explained. "He said he wanted to let Griselda rest in peace..."
"But when we begged him, he finally forged them for us," Kains continued for her.
"I'm sorry, but the reason he opposed your plan wasn't for Griselda's sake," Kirito said sadly. "He thought something flashy, like a PK in a safe zone, would attract sufficient attention for someone to take notice... We only realized it thirty minutes ago."
"We ended up playing right into Yolko's hands, didn't we? You know what? I don't really mind," Keita spoke good-naturedly.
"Yeah, me neither," Asuna agreed with him.
"Hey, how does your guild decide who keeps a rare item drop?"
"Well we usually tell each other when we get something," Keita explained. "We typically decide as a team what we'll do with it but the person who got it usually gets the last say."
"Granted, not everyone here did that," Tetsuo said as he gave a pointed look at Kirito. "Although we do know why he was hiding things from us now."
She couldn't help but grin at Kirito, she knew him enough to know that he would hide a lot.
"In our guild, we do something similar but ultimately, it would belong to the one it dropped for," Asuna explained. "That's the rule. In SAO, no one knows what drops for whom unless someone volunteers it. So if you want to avoid players hoarding, that's the only way. Also, because of that system, marriage in this world has real meaning. If you marry, your item storage is shared, right? Everything you might have hidden until then... Once you're married, you can't hide it anymore. Shared storage is quite a pragmatic system. But I think it's very romantic, as well."
Everyone looked at her, impressed at how much she knew.
"You know, a simple shared storage can be just as meaningful," Sachi pointed out. "Being able to leave something behind for a person you trust and care for but not necessarily love… at least, not at the time…"
"Like a message, perhaps?" Kirito commented. At the same time, he reached over and held one of her hands.
"That's a strange thing to know about, Sachi," Keita commented. "I wonder how you know that," he said slyly looking at the two of them.
They smiled in return before turning back to Asuna who looked at them with a mildly distressed expression.
"I'm surprised you know so much about shared storage though, Asuna," Kirito complimented. "Have you ever been married t-?"
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a tight grip around his arm.
At the same time, Asuna got up, leaned over the table and held a fork right into his face, ready to stab it into him.
He raised his free arm in surrender, afraid of the girls threatening him.
"Sorry! Sorry!" he apologized frantically. "That was a stupid thing to ask!"
"Dude, you can't ask a girl if she's married!" Sasamaru admonished Kirito.
"You can't ask anyone if they're married," Tetsuo pointed out.
"Yeah! Even I'm not that dumb!" Ducker agreed before turning to the scary girl with a look of curiosity. "But have you?"
That brought a second fork into his face.
"I mean the way you talk; it seems like you would know," Ducker tried to weasel his way out of the situation.
"Yeah, you were talking about how it's romantic and plastic," Kirito continued nervously.
He was cut off by someone stomping on his foot.
"Shut. Up." Sasamaru warned him quietly.
"Hey, hey," Tetsuo called out, "don't mind those idiots. They just don't like to think before they speak."
"Yeah, not to mention that some of them like to use their shared storage a lot," Sasamaru said.
"Yeah, remember that time Sachi pulled out one of Kirito's black coats?" Tetsuo asked slyly.
At those words, Sachi panicked and tried to get him to stop.
"'I am the «Black Swordsman»!' she says as she shows off the awesome coat in the living room," he recounted.
"You did that?!" Kirito asked as he tried to stifle his laughter.
"Oh yeah," Sasamaru laughed at the memory. "She wouldn't answer to anything except the 'Black Swordsman' or 'Kirito' while she had it on and she wouldn't even share it when we asked!"
"We all wanted to dress up like the strongest player to!" Ducker added.
"You promised not to tell anyone about that!" Sachi shrieked, thoroughly mortified that they'd tell Asuna about her embarrassing behaviour."
"Did we promise that?" Keita asked as he closed his eyes and pretended to think. "No, no I don't think we did."
Everyone laughed at the memory, even the embarrassed Sachi and Asuna.
"Okay, okay," Asuna tried to stifle her laughter. "But what I said is 'it's romantic and pragmatic'. For your information, the word pragmatic means practical."
"You think marriage in SAO is practical?" Tetsuo asked, trying to keep her rage away from his guildmates.
"Of course," Asuna seemingly calmed down and sat down to the relief of Ducker and Kirito. "If you're married, everything's out and open. You know, because of common storage."
"That's it. Common storage," Kirito interrupted. "Okay, say your spouse dies, what happens to your items?"
"Everything would go to the surviving spouse, right?" Asuna answered.
"That's right," Kirito said. "Everything from the items in your inventory to the equipment you have on, as long as it isn't claimed or stolen, goes to the surviving person."
"Everything…" Asuna repeated. "Everything would go to the surviving spouse…" her eyes widened as she caught on to what he was saying.
"And if everything goes to the spouse, then the ring in Griselda's storage..." Sasamaru was catching on.
"...Should be sitting in Grimlock's storage, not the killer's. It's been there this whole time," Tetsuo completed the thought.
"It was never stolen in the first place!" Asuna realized.
"No, it was stolen," Keita pointed out. "Even if it's still there. Grimlock was still stealing it, the moment he made his plan."
"Grimlock..." Kains repeated in disbelief. "He sent that memo? And he killed Griselda?"
"No, he probably didn't do it personally," Kirito theorized. "He likely left the actual murder to a red player specializing in such things. Maybe it was the same guys from Laughing Coffin we saw just now."
"No..." Yolko whispered, similarly disbelieving. "If he were the murderer, then why would he have helped us?
"Did you tell him your whole plan?" Sachi asked. "I understand that you trusted him."
Trust in guildmates. It was something the Moonlit Black Cats lived by… However, Sachi knew that there were things she wouldn't be able to tell her immediate friends.
"O-of course," Kains stuttered.
"This was his chance to bury the entire thing forever," Kirito informed them. "He waited for you, Schmitt, and Kains to gather, so he could kill you all at once."
"So that's why..." Schmitt shook his head. "That's why that murder guild was here."
"Most likely, he knew them from when he hired them to kill Griselda," Kirito said.
"N-no," Yolko clearly didn't want to believe this. Losing energy to stand, she fell into Kains's arms "T-that's impossible!"
Kains held her close to reassure her, gently stroking her back to soothe her.
They were going to try to make her feel better, however. "We got him," a female voice called from the trees.
Looking to the source of the voice, they saw Asuna, Keita, Tetsuo and Ducker leading a man who was wearing sunglasses and a hat.
The man was calm, but their guildmates still held him at rapier and dagger point as if he was a dangerous criminal.
And if they were right, that's exactly what he was.
"We can ask him for the details," Kirito said monotonously.
"It's been a long time, everyone," Grimlock greeted everyone as if this was just another day.
"Grimlock..." Yolko fearfully spoke the name of her former companion. "Did you... Did you really..." she lost her composure and she started to yell. "Why, Grimlock? Why did you need the money from the ring so badly that you had to kill Griselda, your own wife?"
"Money?" he asked incredulously. "Did you say money?" The smile disappeared from his face "It wasn't for the money."
Everyone looked to him, not knowing what other reason there could be.
"I had... I had to kill her... While she was still my wife."
What does he mean by that?
"She was my wife in the real world, too."
Yolko, Kains and Schmitt gasped, evidently they did not know about this.
"The ideal wife, the perfect wife... Pretty, submissive... We'd never had a single fight," he spoke praises for Griselda. "But when we were both trapped in this world, she changed. Only one of us was overcome with fear from being trapped in a death game... Me."
For the briefest of moments, Sachi empathized with the man. She knew what it was like to be afraid in this world. But what he said next made her lose any positive feelings she could muster for him.
"She looked so much happier," he went on, "so much more alive, than she had in the real world."
Kirito once said that about himself… she remembered him admitting it to her before. So did Asuna… she recalled a time when they were friends a long time ago.
She took a look at the rest of her guildmates, the ones whom she knew from the real world. She recalled that they were a happy bunch there, but here they actually seemed more upbeat, not that they ever said it out loud.
At times, it felt like she was the only one who was truly afraid here.
"I had to accept it... That the Yuuko I loved was gone. Thus... Thus," the man lost his composure and he began to raise his voice, "I decided to forever seal her within my memories here! In this world, where murder is legal...!"
He looked to all of them. Despite his eyes being hidden behind his sunglasses, his eyes almost seemed to glow with desperation, as if asking anyone to tell him that he was justified in what he did.
"And who could blame me?!"
As soon as he said that, Sachi fell to her knees, unable to believe that anyone could be so cruel.
Kirito bent down and gently hugged her before helping her stand up with him, letting her lean against his body.
"You killed your wife for that?" Kirito asked in disgust. "Because your wife stopped listening to you...you killed her just for this reason?"
He didn't give him a chance to answer, incapable of understanding how anyone could do such a horrific thing to someone they claimed to love.
"She trained herself and her friends so that we can all be released from SAO...and hoped to join the clearing group one day, and you...killed her...for such a reason..." his disgust was merged with confusion.
As he spoke, there was a feeling of shame overcoming the other boys of the Moonlit Black Cats. What Kirito was saying about Griselda was similar to how he was with them – He trained them to be a frontline guild. He fought on the frontlines long before they even left the Town of Beginnings, not just for his own but for everyone's freedom – but when things got rough, of course they didn't kill him for his mistake, but they turned against him regardless… Only one of them stayed by his side… It was a shame that they would always live with.
"That's more than reason enough," Grimlock tried to justify himself, sneering. "Someday, you'll all understand. Once you've found love and are about to lose it."
"You're the one who's mistaken, Grimlock," Sachi called out. It wasn't like her to yell, but knowing how much she cared for the one she loves, she couldn't comprehend why he would hurt his wife. She could never imagine doing such a thing to Kirito, no matter how many mistakes he makes.
"You didn't feel love for Griselda! You only wanted to possess her!"
There was something in her voice that got to him. That girl who looked so timid and submissive, just like his Yuuko… but she was yelling, sounding strong just like Griselda…
He fell to his knees as he looked at what he thought of as the spitting image of his wife.
There was silence in the field before Schmitt walked forward and pulled up Grimlock by the arm.
"Kirito, everyone, could you leave this man to us?"
Taking a look at his party, he saw that everyone was willing to let this happen. "All right," he said simply.
Before the former members of Golden Apple walked away, Yolko bowed to them, which they returned in kind.
Once they left, it was only the odd party in the field.
"Hey," Asuna said to everyone. "If you married someone, and then you discovered they had a side you didn't know, what would you think?"
The rest of them looked at each other awkwardly, not sure of how to answer the question.
Marriage was never something that was ever on most of the MBC boys' minds – Not only because of their age but also because most of them have never even dated before.
Naturally, it was the boy there who dated who answered the question. "I'd say that I was lucky," Kirito said as he held Sachi tighter. "Because if you marry someone, it means you already like what you know about them, right? So if you found something new about them and fell in love with that, too..." he paused to put his head against Sachi's. "That'd be great to."
"And no matter how much you think they change, you know that they're always the same person you always knew," Sachi said as she pressed her head against his, not caring that everyone could see them. "The same person you fell in love with."
The Moonlit Black Cats smiled at the affectionate display, elated that at least their favourite couple was still supporting each other.
"Still, when you think about it, it's not that different from any friendship," Keita said. "After all, people are rarely the person you first meet them as, but once you get to know them, you accept everything about them… Not that I'm really one to talk about that…"
Kirito reluctantly removed himself from Sachi so he could look his leader in the eyes. "We forgave each other for that a long time ago."
"Okay, okay, that's enough out of all of you," Asuna said with a voice tinged with curiosity as well another, uglier emotion. "More importantly, I'm hungry. I didn't get to finish my meal earlier."
"Awww," Ducker whined, "But I wanted to talk about what love means to me."
There was a chorus of laughs as they turned, ready to get going.
However, before they could leave, they sensed a presence from the grave.
Turning around at once, they saw a woman watching them. She had hair that went down to her shoulders and her body was surrounded with a gray cloak.
Just from her gaze, she seemed to communicate precisely what she wanted to say.
"Your will...we'll definitely carry it on," Sachi spoke softly, wanting the spirit to know precisely what they were all thinking. "One day, we'll beat this game and release everyone for you to see."
"So...please watch over us, Griselda," Asuna spoke in a similarly quiet voice.
The apparition gave them a gentle smile before seemingly disappearing into thin air.
"Hey, everyone," Asuna said timidly. "Do you want to friend me? It's kind of silly not to. It's convenient. We are all in the same Assault Team after all."
"Actually only one of us is a part of the Assault Team," Sachi replied.
"Still, I can tell that the rest of you are close to joining soon," Asuna said, unperturbed.
"How about we think about it while we eat," Keita suggested. "This time we'll pay for you, VC."
"Thank you, Keita," she spoke his name gently.
"There's this place we wanted to try on the 59th floor," he recalled the restaurant they saw in town 2 days ago.
"You guys mind going ahead?" Kirito asked them. "I want to talk to Sachi right now."
The boys smiled at him knowingly, nodding, they walked away without a word. Asuna followed behind them although she didn't look nearly as happy.
Once they were sure everyone was gone, the two turned to each other, holding each other's hands.
"What did you want to talk about, Kirito?" Sachi asked timidly.
"I just wanted to say… That I love you, Sachi. I loved you when we first met and I love you now, no matter how much you change, no matter how strong you become, I'll always love you… in this world, in the real world or any world. I want to be with you forever, Saki."
She blinked a few times, trying to process his confession. It wasn't the first time he talked about his love for her, but every time he did, it still made her feel like it was the first confession.
"I love you too, Kirito. No matter what you do, no matter what you're called, I'll always love you. My beloved Kazuto."
"I'll always protect you."
"And I'll always stay by your side."
""I'm so glad that I met you and that I could be with you,"" they said at the same time.
They smiled at each other gently, letting them assure each other with their gazes along with their words. Neither of them felt that it was right to kiss at this place, so they held hands to the same effect.
Their long moment was interrupted by the sound of a message notification.
They reluctantly checked it to see the location of the restaurant they had to head to.
Giving each other another smile, they knotted their fingers together and walked to the town together.
And now The Murder in The Safe Zone arc is done. Not much to say about the chapters themselves, Like I said, I would've been fine skipping them, especially because I couldn't think of anything different to do. At least we got a name reveal! It is really fun writing the relationships between the Moonlit Black Cats, so writing the parts where they were figuring things out was fun. I wasn't planning on including the name I made up for Sachi in this chapter, but it felt right to. Her family name will be revealed later. The other Moonlit Black Cats already have their own made-up names – I was hoping to make them similar to their game names so that it's obvious who is who when they talk IRL. Hopefully nobody else has used them before.
I did consider writing a story where the characters who died in SAO had to escape from Aincrad after it was completed. Naturally it would have included Griselda and she would have become a mother figure for the other characters. Unfortunately, I decided to scrap it, mainly because I was inspired by someone else's fanfic with that concept and it was great, so it felt wrong to copy that idea, alas it hasn't been updated for a long time. But who knows? Maybe I'll feel motivated to write that – After Midnight Shadow is complete of course. The story is "Kirito's Final Journey" by TheInsightfulEmissary.
More importantly, I MAY have screwed up. Going through the LN, I found out that I MAY have understood something wrong regarding the exposition I brought up last chapter. That brings up a question regarding what happens later in the original. It's too late to change now, nor do I want to change it, so I'll still continue as I planned but I'll bring it up when the time comes. Hopefully someone can explain it to me.
Until next time, stay cool.