~~Hello, readers, I'm back with a new chapter.
I don't own anything from Sword Art Online or Code Name: Kids Next Door.
Only my original characters belong to me.~~
A month had passed, and 2,000 players have died.
Nobody had been able to clear the first floor of Aincrad.
It was now early morning in the virtual world.
Sioku and her new friend Kirito had just arrived at a meeting place.
They sat down next to a girl with long, orange-brownish chestnut hair and hazel eyes.
She had on a dark red leather tunic with a lightweight copper breastplate, leather pants, boots that go up to her knees, and a hooded cape.
Sioku smiled and waved at the girl before she turned away.
Even though her panic attack had already passed, Sioku still seemed bothered by the after effects of it.
However, she decided to shake away those bad thoughts and focus on the meeting.
A man stood in front of the crowd.
"Now that everyone is here, let's get this meeting started. I want to thank you all for coming. My name is Diabel, and my job is to be a knight," he introduced.
Most of the people began to laugh at him and make comments.
Diabel immediately became annoyed and shouted, "Do you guys want to hear this or not?"
Sioku couldn't help but giggle at that.
The chattering slowly faded into silence.
He then revealed that his party found the boss room on top of a tower.
A few people reacted to the news in a hopeful way.
Diabel gave a few words of encouragement before he received a round of applause.
He then instructed everyone to divide up into parties of six.
Kirito turned to the chestnut haired girl named Asuna and started a brief conversation with her.
"You got left out too, didn't you?" he said.
"No, I just don't have any friends here," she answered plainly.
Asuna pointed to Sioku and looked at Kirito.
"I see that you have another player with you. Who is she?" Asuna asked curiously.
"Oops, I almost forgot to introduce you to her. This is my new friend Sioku. I met her a month ago," he replied with a joyful smile.
Instead of paying attention to them, Sioku curiously looked around the meeting place.
Asuna agreed to join Sioku and Kirito's party during this upcoming fight.
She then turned to Kirito with a concerned look.
"Is there a reason why Sioku is being very quiet today?" inquired Asuna.
"Sioku has been going through a fearful situation before she logged into SAO," Kirito answered softly.
The meeting continued once everybody had been teamed up.
Diabel was about to resume his speech when another man suddenly interrupted him.
"Wait right there!" he shouted suddenly.
Sioku gasped happily in response to the man's hollering.
The short, spiky haired man with brown eyes jumped down onto the floor.
He then introduced himself as Kibaou.
Sioku was instantly surprised by the sudden interruption, but she used it as a distraction from her worries.
She stared intently at the man.
Kibaou demanded the beta testers to apologize for the 2,000 players who have died.
He also accused them of ignoring everybody else, taking the good hunting spots, and hording money and special items.
Lastly, he demanded that all of the X beta testers should give up their winnings.
Some people in the crowd started to whisper amongst each other.
Kirito began to feel a bit anxious as he listened to Kibaou's demands.
Sioku placed a hand on Kirito's shoulder in order to help him relax.
Although Sioku didn't like the man's attitude, she felt an attraction to Kibaou's short stature and strong voice.
She began to perk up and smiled at him spellbound.
Kirito leaned close to Sioku and grinned.
"Hey, Sioku, what are you smiling about?" he asked in a playful tone.
"Kibaou," Sioku whispered in his ear.
Kirito chuckled at that in amusement.
"Really? What do you like about him?" he inquired.
"This guy is short like me. He also has a strong voice and an expressive nature," she answered quietly.
Another man named Agil walked up to Kibaou and began talking to him.
After pulling out a guide book, Agil told Kibaou that the X beta testers handed them out to all of the new players.
Kibaou walked dejectedly back to his seat.
Sioku let out a dreamy sigh as she watched him.
Diabel explained his plan to beat the boss before he dismissed the meeting.
Sioku pulled out her guide book and red it during the explanation.
"We leave at 10:00 in the morning," he added.
People immediately began to exit the meeting place.
Asuna stood up and quietly walked away.
Kirito and Sioku curiously followed her to a secluded spot near the water.
She was sitting down and eating a piece of bread.
"Excuse me, Asuna, may my friend and I sit down?" he asked politely.
Asuna scooted over and didn't say anything.
After situating themselves, Kirito pulled out some bread and split it between him and Sioku.
"Thank you, Kirito," Sioku said with a smile.
"No problem, Sioku," Kirito replied as he smiled back.
Kirito selected the small bottle of cream from his inventory.
"I have a little trick to make that bread taste better," he said to Sioku and Asuna.
"What trick?" asked Asuna.
Kirito handed the bottle to Asuna.
Asuna poured some cream onto her bread before she passed the bottle to Sioku.
The bottle disappeared after Sioku finished using it.
Sioku and Asuna then ate their bred.
"You're right, that is really good. But I didn't come to this town just to eat good food," said Asuna to Kirito.
Kirito and Asuna then had a serious conversation about making it out of the boss room alive.
After finishing their snacks, Kirito led Sioku and Asuna through a forest.
On their way to the boss room, Kirito revealed his plan for defeating it.
Sioku listened attentively as he explained how players should fight together if they are in a party.
They eventually made it to the boss room.
Other groups of players were already inside and preparing to fight.
Asuna turned to Sioku wearing a concerned expression.
"Pardon me, Sioku, but can you use a sword?" she asked.
An image of Kibaou flashed through Sioku's mind which caused her to perk up.
Sioku grinned confidently at Asuna.
"Of corse, I've been training hard for the last month. I also want to become a great healer in the future," she answered with determination.
"Okay, that sounds awesome. I already know a few healing spells," Asuna responded in a cheerful tone.
"I hope the thhree of us can become great friends in the near future," Sioku added with a smile.
"I'm sure we will," replied Kirito.
Kirito carefully led Sioku and Asuna into the room.
A huge monster was sitting on a throan.
The boss jumped down before he charged at his enemies.
All of the groups of people began to surround the monster with their swords out.
However, the boss's minions came rushing toward everybody.
The parties began fighting the minions off one by one.
"Are you ladies ready?" asked Kirito.
"Yes, sir," answered Asuna.
Sioku took one quick look at Kibaou.
"I sure am, you can count on me!" she added with excitement.
Asuna grinned playfully at Sioku.
"It looks like someone's in love," she pointed out in a joking manner.
"You saw that?" asked Sioku quietly.
Asuna's grin widened as she nodded.
Sioku's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Hold on, Asuna, it's not like that!" she shouted in a flustered way.
Asuna only giggled in response.
Kirito and his friends pulled out their swords.
They easily defeated all of the minions that came their way.
One of the minions charged at Kibaou as he was fighting a few more of them.
Sioku noticed that and rushed to go help him.
"I'm coming, Kibaou!" she hollered with determination.
"Sioku, wait! Don't go!" Asuna called after her.
Sioku ignored Asuna's plee and bravely charged at the minion before it had a chance to strike Kibaou.
She slashed the minion a few times before it faded away.
Kibaou noticed the girl's quick action and glanced at her.
Before Kibaou could say anything to her, Sioku happily skipped back to her friends.
"Somebody looks happy this morning," said Kirito cheerfully as he looked at Sioku.
"Never mind that," Sioku replied while trying to shrug off the topic.
Asuna gave Sioku a stern look.
"Sioku, you are in a party! You do not run away just because somebody you like might need help! Don't leave us again!" she hollered.
Sioku turned around to get in Asuna's face.
"Excuse me, but do you seriously think that you can just boss me around because I'm short? No way, I challenge you to a duel after this!" she yelled back.
"Challenge accepted, Sioku," agreed Asuna with determination.
A few boys heard the girls' argument and stared at them.
"Take it easy, Asuna," urged Kirito calmly.
Asuna only shook her head at him.
"Our fight doesn't matter," said Sioku as she swung her sword at a few more minions.
She then joined in their fight against the boss.
The boss himself began swinging a weapon around and attempted to strike anybody near him.
Kirito studied the boss's weapon carefully.
"Wait, stop! Get out of there!" he hollered to Diabel.
Diabel ignored Kirito and charged at the boss anyway.
The boss slashed at Diabel from behind, sending him flying in the process.
Kirito immediately ran toward Diabel and offered him a potion.
They had a brief conversation before Diabel faded away.
Kirito then started speaking out loud but to nobody in specific.
Sioku's face saddened as she listened to his speech.
She could feel the pain and sorrow that he was going through.
"Poor Kirito," she thought sadly.
Kirito and Asuna took turns striking the boss.
Sioku stayed behind in case her friends needed healing.
She seemed fascinated by their switching technique.
Another party immediately took over the fight.
Both Kirito and Asuna fell back as they were struck by the boss's weapon.
Sioku ran to their rescue and handed a potion to each of them.
The fact that Asuna had yelled at Sioku didn't bother her anymore.
She only focused on the safety of her friends.
"Thank you for your help, Sioku," said Kirito graciously.
"Yeah, thanks," added Asuna.
"You two are most welcome, I'm always happy to help. This is my first step to becoming a healer," Sioku replied with a joyous expression.
Once they had been healed up, Kirito and Asuna switched spots with the other party.
They defeated the boss with ease since he had already been weakened.
"Congratulations," said Sioku to Kirito and Asuna.
"You did quite well yourself," replied Kirito.
Sioku grinned proudly at her friends in response.
Agil strolled up to Kirito and Asuna before he complemented their swordsmanship.
He then thanked Kirito for securing their victory.
Most of the other players clapped and cheered for Kirito.
"Stop cheering!" shouted Kibaou as he marched up to Kirito.
The whole crowd immediately paused in silence.
Sioku couldn't help but smile dreamily at Kibaou.
She then turned to Kirito with a confused look.
Kibaou blamed Kirito for the death of Diabel.
All of the other parties except Sioku and Asuna agreed with him.
Kibaou then accused Kirito of being a cheater.
"He's a beta tester and a cheater! He's a beater!" screamed another player.
Kirito began to laugh crazily before he spoke, "Beater, I like that name. You can call me a beater, but don't mix me in with those other testers.
Sioku's confused expression changed into one of concern.
"What in the world is wrong with Kirito right now? Why is he acting like that?" she whispered.
Kirito placed the cloak over his clothes before he exited the boss room.
Sioku waved at Kibaou before she followed Asuna out the door.
Back in the forest, Asuna looked at Kirito with a confused expression.
"You called me Asuna back there," she said.
"That is your name, isn't it?" Kirito replied.
"Yes, but how did you know?" Asuna continued.
Kirito introduced himself to Asuna, then explained that a player's name is displayed next to the HP gage.
Asuna looked at it and laughed.
"Oops, I'm so dumb. I never noticed it," she said in a joking manner.
Asuna then looked at her friends' names.
"Your names ar Sioku and... Kirito," she pointed out.
Asuna turned to Sioku with an apologetic look.
"Hey, Sioku, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I was just frustrated at the boss because he was a tough opponent," she added.
"You don't have to worry, Asuna, I'm not mad at you. That wouldn't be right if I was," Sioku replied sincerely.
Asuna smiled brightly at her.
"It was nice meeting you Asuna. I'll see you later," said Sioku as she and Kirito walked away.
Back in the Town of Beginnings, Sioku and Kirito were walking around the market.
Sioku purchased a few more potions while Kirito looked through the equipment options.
Kirito then led Sioku to a sitting area to take a break.
He grinned at her as a thought crossed his mind.
"Hey, Sioku, are you still thinking about Kibaou?" he wondered.
Sioku's eyes widened at that in surprise.
Her cheeks flushed with happiness as she imagined Kibaou.
"Maybe," she replied awkwardly.
In the midst of their conversation, Sioku heard footsteps coming toward her from behind.
She curiously paused and turned around.
"What's up, Sioku?" asked Kirito.
"Those two girls seem to recognize me," Sioku answered while pointing to the two female figures moving closer to her.
They stopped directly in front of her wearing relieved expressions on their faces.
Sioku remained still as she stared intently at the girls.
"Hi, Sioku, long time no see. Where in this virtual world have you been for the last month?" one of them greeted.
"We've been searching the entire first floor for you. You had us really worried," the other girl added.
"Do you know these girls?" asked Kirito.
"Of course she knows us," Jessy answered.
"The three of us go to the same high school," Ariel added.
"That's great! Sioku told me that she has two best friends who have also logged into SAO. My name is Kirito," he replied cheerfully.
Sioku perked up at the sound of the other girls' voices.
"Ariel! Jessy! I am so happy to see both of you!" she hollered.
She joyfully ran up to her female friends, then pulled them into a tight embrace.
Jessy and Ariel gladly returned the hug.
"We missed you, Sioku," said Ariel.
"Yeah, We didn't know whether you were still alive or not," Jessy added.
"Sioku let out a heavy sigh of remorse before replying, "I sincerely apologize for making you guys worry about me. The truth is, I've been searching for you two as well."
"I don't understand why we weren't able to keep in touch," said Jessy.
"Players can contact each other through their friend list," Ariel pointed out.
Sioku carefully scrolled through her menu and selected the friends list.
The brown haired girl's cheeks pinked up as she turned to her friends.
"Oops, I totally didn't see that option in the menu. I'll send both of you a friend request right now," she said nervously.
Jessy and Ariel instantly accepted Sioku's friend request.
Sioku then sent Kirito a friend request who gladly accepted it.
Kirito stood up, then turned to Sioku.
"Another guild is waiting for me at a cafe. I'll meet up with you later," he said.
"Sounds good, go have fun with your new friends. Bye for now," she replied with a smile.
Kirito smiled back at Sioku as he walked away. Jessy and Ariel sat down on the wooden bench on either side of Sioku.
"How have you ladies been since we entered the game?" asked Sioku.
Jessy stared at Sioku with jealous eyes and spoke firmly, "Before I answer that, I want to say something to you. I clearly saw you sitting next to that hot swordsman. who the heck is he?"
Sioku immediately put a hand up in defence.
"Calm down Jess, Kirito and I are just friends. He has been helping me level up until I found you and Ariel. Besides, Kirito isn't my love interest anyway. I already have somebody else in mind," she responded calmly.
Ariel grinned at Sioku as she chimed in, "Really? Who is this guy? Please tell us!"
Sioku hid her face and laughed nervously.
The thought of Kibaou caused her to tremble in excitement.
"Come on, Sioku," urged Jessy.
Sioku blushed and answered in a flustered way, "Well... it's a long story. Kirito and I attended a meeting two days ago. This man named Diabel came up with a plan to defeat the boss on this floor. Kirito and I were joined by this other girl named Asuna to form a party. Once all of the parties had been formed, Diabel attempted to continue the meeting. However, he was interrupted by another man named Kibaou. Kibaou is a short man with spiky hair who wears a scale male armor. This man claimed that the X beta testers ignored all of the new players and took everything for themselves. I felt bad for the X beta testers, but I also felt an instant attraction to Kibaou's voice. He sounded strong and very expressive. In the boss room, everybody got ready to fight that monster and his annoying minions. Kibaou was in the middle of fighting a few of those things when another minion snuck up on him. I noticed it and immediately ran to help Kibaou. The minion didn't have a chance to strike because I killed it in time. Asuna and I got into an argument because I left the party for a minute. She and I almost had a duel of our own. After all of that, I helped Kirito and Asuna defeat the boss."
Jessy and Ariel sat silently, staring at their friend with stunned expressions.