~~Hello, readers, I'm back with a new chapter.
I do not own anything from Sword Art Online or Code Name: Kids Next Door.
Only my original characters belong to me.~~
It was now mid morning in the virtual world.
Sioku and her guildmates had just approached a dungeon on the third floor to begin their quest.
Those territorial spider monsters came into view once the group had entered.
The spiders immediately charged at them with their claws out.
Kibaou protectively stepped in front of Sioku and pulled out his sword.
He dodged the spiders' attacks while repeatedly slashing at them.
Morte Joined Kibaou and followed suit.
Sioku pulled out her sword and bravely fought off the spiders that were surrounding Kibaou and Morte.
She quickly hopped around in circles in order to confuse them.
One by one, many spiders disappeared as Sioku drained their HP completely.
"Thank you for the support, Sioku," said Kibaou.
"Any time," Sioku replied with a smile.
As the battles against those demons raged on, the players were beginning to lose their HP.
Sioku handed a potion to each of her friends before she restored her own HP.
Much to their shock, bigger spider monsters joined in the battle.
Unlike the smaller spiders, the big ones had poison in their claws and teeth.
All three players charged at the giant spiders with full power.
However, it was becoming more difficult for Sioku and her guild mates to fight them off.
Just as Kibaou had finished killing a spider, another one jumped onhim from behind and sank its poison filled fangs into his neck.
Kibaou groaned in pain as he fell to the ground with a hard thud.
His HP began to drain at an alarming rate.
Sweat covered his body as he panted heavily.
He felt his body rapidly burn up from the inside.
Sioku became startled when she heard his sword hit the floor.
She quickly turned around and rushed to Kibaou's rescue.
"What in the world is going on?" she asked out loud.
Her eyes grew wide with horror when she saw Kibaou helplessly laying on the ground.
"Oh no… Kibaou? What happened to you?" she hollered frantically.
She carefully knelt down beside the injured man.
"I've been poisoned," he whispered weakly.
Sioku gasped in terror at that.
A million fearful thoughts raced through her mind all at once.
She grabbed Kibaou's hand and held it firmly in both of hers.
Tears welled up in Sioku's eyes as she leaned over him.
Losing the player Sioku loved was the main thing that she feared most in that virtual world.
"Please hang in there, Kibaou, I won't let you die. I will find a way to save you," she said sadly.
Kibaou tried to squeeze her hand in response.
He stared up at Sioku with a pleading look in his eyes.
"You're going to be okay, Kibaou, I promise. Please stay with me," Sioku added with deep concern.
Kibaou tried moving but to no avail.
Sioku comfortingly placed her other hand over him and said softly, "No, Kibaou, you have to stay still. The poison will spread through your body quicker if you move."
Kibaou weakly grabbed onto Sioku's other hand and tried to hold it.
Sioku's breath caught in her throat at his action.
A feeling of elation coursed through Sioku's body, causing her to blush.
Her heart began to race with joy.
She quickly pushed those dreamy thoughts away in order to focus on helping him.
Sioku Held both of his hands while staring affectionately into his eyes.
"I won't let you go, Kibaou," she whispered.
Morte heard all of the commotion and turned around.
"Kibaou, sir, I'm coming to help you!" he shouted from behind them.
"Please hurry, Kibaou has been poisoned!" Sioku called back.
As soon as he arrived at the scene, Morte quickly grabbed the spider by its leg and yanked it off of Kibaou with full force.
Kibaou winced in pain and let out a yelp.
Sioku gently lifted Kibaou onto her lap and held him close.
"It's okay, Kibaou, I'm right here. I won't leave your side," she said soothingly.
Kibaou began to shiver violently in Sioku's embrace.
Sioku's heart began to race with fear.
She stroked his hair in an attempt to sooth him.
Morte furiously dug his sword into the monster's body, draining all of its HP in the process.
The spider faded into particles of dust.
"Nice work, Morte," Sioku praised as she watched.
Morte gave a thumbs up in return.
He then knelt down on Kibaou's other side before examining him.
Blood poured from his wound onto the floor.
Morte placed his hands over Kibaou's wound and applyed as much pressure to it as he possibly could.
Kibaou continued to stare at Sioku while struggling to keep his eyes open.
Sioku lovingly tightened her hold on him.
"Stay with me, Kibaou," she said softly.
Morte shifted his attention to the distressed girl and asked calmly, "Sioku, do you have any antidote crystals on you?"
Sioku frantically opened her inventory and answered, "I'm not sure, but i'll check."
Much to Sioku's relief, she found and selected an antidote crystal.
She then turned to Morte and asked with a frantic expression, "How am I supposed to use this thing?"
"You can hand the crystal over to me. I'll place it on Kibaou's wound. The antidote inside this crystal is strong enough to get rid of the poison," Morte explained.
Without any hesitation, Sioku passed the crystal to Morte before shifting her focus back to Kibaou.
Kibaou had finally given in to the exhaustion and closed his eyes.
He lay asleep in her arms.
Morte gently pressed the antidote crystal onto Kibaou's wound and held it there.
Sioku continued to embrace and reassure her friend during the process.
All of the poison had left Kibaou's weakened body by the time the antidote crystal had run out of magic power.
Ten minutes later, Kibaou slowly began to show signs of improvement.
"Morte, thank you so much for your help. This man right here means a lot to me," said Sioku with a relieved smile.
"You're welcome, Sioku," Morte replied quietly.
Sioku selected the most powerful healing spell she had in her list of skills, then said the incantation.
The wound on Kibaou's neck disappeared almost instantly.
Kibaou opened his eyes and stared at Sioku.
Sioku placed a hand on Kibaou's shoulder.
"Oh, Kibaou, I was very worried about you. How are you feeling?" she said gently.
"Really tired," he simply answered.
Sioku selected a potion from her inventory and handed it to Kibaou.
"Here, please take this potion. It will restore your energy," she said softly.
"Thank you, Sioku," Kibaou replied as he gently took the potion from her.
Sioku then turned to Morte who was still sitting next to them.
"Excuse me, Morte, I think you should go find and join another party. I'm going to take Kibaou somewhere safe so he can rest," she said.
"Very well, Sioku, I'll probably go join the other party that is already in this dungeon. Please take good care of our leader," Morte replied.
"You don't have to worry, Morte, Kibaou is in good hands. I'll stay right by his side," Sioku said with a bright smile.
"I don't doubt that," Morte replied before he walked away.
Once they were alone, Sioku pulled Kibaou closer to her.
"Hey, Kibaou, would you like to go to my house for a while?" she asked softly.
"Sure," he answered briefly.
Sioku stood up carefully while still holding Kibaou tight.
She then carried him slowly out of the dungeon.
Once outside, Sioku used a teleport crystal to automatically transport them to the Town of Beginnings.
Kibaou laid his head on Sioku's shoulder in exhaustion.
"Don't worry, Kibaou, we're almost there. I'll help you settle in as soon as we get inside," she assured.
Sioku hurried down the grassy path that led to her house.
Once at the door, Sioku opened it before she quickly entered.
She then sat down on one of the couches.
Kibaou closed his eyes again and fell asleep in her arms.
"Jessy! Ariel! Are you two here?" she called out.
Kibaou flinched nervously at the sound of Sioku's hollering.
Sioku comfortingly placed her hand on his head.
"I'm so sorry, Kibaou, I was just looking for my friends. You're okay," she whispered.
Kibaou snuggled up to her in response.
"I'm here, Sioku!" Jessy called back from the kitchen.
Jessy then ran into the living room.
"Hello, Sioku, I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been?" she greeted with excitement.
Sioku protectively put a hand up to stop her friend.
"Hold on, Jess, please be very careful around Kibaou. He is trying to recover from a severe injury. He just got badly poisoned by a spider in the dungeon," she explained.
Jessy paused abruptly as she stared down at Kibaou.
"Wait, Sioku, he's the man who you're in love with?" she asked.
Sioku smiled at her friend and answered in a flustered way, "Yes, but I'll talk to you and Ariel about that later. I need to get Kibaou settled in now.
"You can take him to your room," Jessy suggested.
"Great idea, Jess," Sioku replied as she stood up.
"I'll see you later, Sioku," said Jessy before she returned to the kitchen.
Sioku stood up slowly, then carried Kibaou down the short hallway and into her bedroom.
After closing the door behind them, Sioku gently layed Kibaou down on her bed.
She then placed the covers over him.
Sioku smiled in adoration as she stared at him.
Kibaou suddenly woke up and grabbed Sioku's arm tightly.
Sioku noticed this and asked with concern, "Kibaou, what's going on? Are you all right?"
Kibaou's body trembled as he tried to maintain his grip on Sioku's arm.
"Sioku, please don't leave my side. I need you," he pleaded.
Sioku slipped under the covers and pulled Kibaou into a comforting embrace.
"Don't worry, Kibaou, I'm right here. You're safe now," she said softly.
Kibaou wrapped his arms around Sioku and hugged her tight.
His body continued to tremble against hers.
Sioku lovingly stroked his hair as she sang a song to him.
The soothing melody calmed him down enough to relax.
Sioku continued to hold Kibaou as he slept peacefully in her embrace.
She let out a dreamy sigh while smiling at him in admiration.
"I wish this beautiful moment could last forever," she thought.
Sioku yawned and closed her eyes.
Complete silence filled her room.
She drifted into the darkness a few minutes later.
Hours passed by as they slept in each other's arms.
A knock at the door suddenly woke Sioku from her sleep.
"Come in," she answered.
The door slowly opened, and Ariel entered the bedroom.
"Hey, Sioku," she greeted.
"Hello, Ariel, how have you been?" Sioku replied quietly.
Ariel walked closer to the bed and answered, "I've been all right, how about you?"
Sioku gently placed her hand on Kibaou's forehead and replied, "I'm okay, but you must be very careful over here. Kibaou is resting right now."
"Jessy told me that you had him over. What happened?" Ariel continued.
Sioku took in a deep breath and explained, "Kibaou got badly poisoned by a spider in the dungeon. The poor guy has been fighting for his life since then. I already healed his wound and got rid of the poison. Now Kibaou is emotionally attached to me. He doesn't want me to leave his side."
"That sounds rough, Sioku," Ariel replied.
Kibaou grabbed Sioku's hand off of his forehead and held it tightly.
Sioku smiled at Kibaou as a rush of energy flowed through her system.
Ariel grinned at Sioku and said in a joking manner, "Awe, he really does love you. You two would be perfect for each other anyway."
Sioku's cheeks pinked up as she replied quietly, "You saw that?"
Ariel only nodded in response.
Sioku paused in confusion before speaking to him, "Kibaou, are you all right?"
Kibaou jolted awake and started to pant heavily.
Sweat dripped profusely down his face.
"Wo… is he okay, Sioku?" asked Ariel.
"He probably had a bad dream," Sioku answered.
She held Kibaou close to her and spoke smoothly to him, "Hey, Kibaou, what's going on?"
There was no response from him.
Kibaou continued to breathe heavily as he trembled violently in her arms.
Sioku let out a disappointed sigh as she stared at her friend.
"Kibaou... please tell me what's bothering you. I only want to help," she said soothingly.
Kibaou snuggled up to Sioku while still keeping a tight grip on her hand.
She lovingly tightened her hold on Kibaou and waited patiently for him to calm down.
Ariel watched her best friend with a look of admiration.
Kibaou eventually calmed down as Sioku continued to hold and reassure him.
Once Kibaou had finally relaxed, Sioku turned to Ariel with a remorseful expression.
"I'm sorry, Ariel, he isn't normally like this at all. Kibaou is usually an expressive and fearless fighter," she said sadly.
Ariel looked at Sioku and replied curiously, "That's okay, do you think the poison may have done something to his mental status?"
Sioku let out a heavy sigh and answered, "Maybe, hopefully I can help him return to his normal self again very soon."
"I hope so too," Ariel replied sympathetically.
Kibaou laid his head on Sioku's neck and sighed.
Sioku hugged him tight and whispered softly, "Don't worry, Kibaou, I'm not going anywhere. I promise to be right here through your recovery."
She selected a healing spell and said it quietly to him.
Kibaou relaxed almost instantly and fell asleep.
Ariel's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Sioku.
"Wow, I didn't know that you knew how to use healing magic," she said.
"I didn't find out about those healing spells until this morning," Sioku replied brightly.
A long period of silence passed between the three of them.
Sioku soothingly stroked Kibaou's hair in order to keep him relaxed.
She then turned to Ariel and said quietly, "I did this to Trooper all the time whenever we laid down together. I miss my dog so much."
"I miss my Pomeranians too," she replied sadly.
A few minutes later, Jessy cautiously entered the room.
"Hey, love birds," she joked.
Sioku giggled before replying, "Hi, Jess, what brings you in here?"
"I came to check on both of you," Jessy answered.
"That's very nice of you, Jess, we're okay. I just used a healing spell on Kibaou a few minutes ago," Sioku replied with a smile.
Jessy paused and stared down at Kibaou.
"Wo, that man is out like a light. He looks adorable with you," she said happily.
Sioku's face heated up as she grinned at Jessy.
"Thank you, Jess, I enjoy taking care of him," she replied with the same amount of happiness.
Jessy then looked at Sioku with a curious expression and asked, "When will you and Kibaou rejoin your guild?"
"As soon as he recovers," Sioku answered.
"That's a smart idea," Ariel chimed in.
Kibaou trembled slightly as he squeezed Sioku's hand.
She soothingly rubbed his forehead with her thumb to relax him.
"I'm still here, Kibaou," she assured softly.
Jessy and Ariel smiled at Sioku, then at each other.
They seemed fascinated by her way of helping Kibaou.
Sioku heard whispers and quiet laughter coming from the two girls.
"Hey, Sioku, would you like to go on a quest with Ariel and me sometime?" asked Jessy.
"Yes, but Kibaou and I must finish our mission first. My guild and I were trying to clear the dungeon on this floor. I really do miss spending time with you guys," Sioku explained.
"That's understandable," replied Ariel.
In the midst of their conversation, Kibaou woke up and stared at Sioku.
Sioku smiled and hugged him close to her.
"Hi, Kibaou, how are you feeling?" she greeted.
Kibaou let out a quiet yawn before answering, "Hey, Sioku, I'm all right. I sincerely apologize for the trouble I caused. I acted like a scared little kid after the poison incident. You have every right to be embarrassed with me."
Sioku immediately pulled him into a comforting embrace.
"Don't worry, Kibaou, I'm just glad to know that you're okay. You didn't cause any trouble at all. I chose to help and care for you. Besides, you didn't embarrass me either. I wanted to keep you safe as well," she said smoothly.
"That was very kind of you, Sioku. You saved my life," he replied softly.
"I'm so glad," Sioku whispered before she lightly kissed his cheek.
A brief moment of silence passed between them.
Sioku placed her hand on Kibaou's shoulder.
"Do you feel good enough to rejoin the guild?" she asked softly.
"No, Sioku, I still don't have enough strength to fight right now. I need to rest up a bit more," he answered.
A message from Morte popped up on Kibaou's NerveGear, and he quickly opened it up.
The message read: Hello, sir, are you feeling better?
Kibaou let go of Sioku's hand and replied: Yes, Morte, but I still don't have enough energy to resume our mission. How are you and the others doing?
Morte answered: My party and I are doing just fine. We have cleared most of the dungeon.
Sioku looked at Kibaou and asked curiously, "Who was that?"
"Morte, he and his party are still trying to clear the dungeon. They are almost finished," Kibaou answered.
Sioku's face saddened as she continued, "I'm so sorry, Kibaou, I wish I took that spider out before it had a chance to bite you. You and I would have been able to help our guild mates finish the mission."
"It's not your fault, Sioku," he reassured.
Kibaou placed his hand on Sioku's shoulder and carefully pulled himself up into a sitting position.
Sioku couldn't help but blush and smile at the man.
She sat up and put her arm around him.
Ariel looked at Kibaou and greeted, "Hello, sir, it's nice to meet you. My name is Ariel. I am one of Sioku's best friends from school."
Jessy grinned at Kibaou and chimed in, "Same here, my name is Jessy. I am Sioku's other best friend from school. Sioku has told Ariel and me so much about you."
Kibaou smiled back at the girls and replied, "I'm pleased to meet both of you as well. Sioku has been taking great care of me since we first met. I am so grateful to have Sioku as a friend and guild mate."
Sioku threw her arms around him and said joyfully, "Oh, Kibaou, having the opportunity to help and take care of you was the best thing that ever happened to me in the virtual world. I will always cherish our beautiful friendship, even if you and I can't meet each other in the real world. You will be in my heart forever."
Kibaou returned the hug and laid his head on Sioku's shoulder.
"Are you two hungry?" asked Ariel.
"Yes, I could go for some food right now," answered Sioku.
Kibaou laughed nervously as he heard his stomach growl.
"Same here," he added.
"Ariel and I will meet you guys in the living room," replied Jessy.
The two girls then exited Sioku's room.
"Hey, Kibaou, are you ready to go?" asked Sioku as she gently took his hand.
She felt a rush of hyper energy flow through her system.
"Yes," he simply answered.
Sioku stood up before slowly helping Kibaou get back on his feet.
They kept their arms around each other for support.
After she exited her bedroom, Sioku carefully led Kibaou into the living room.
She then helped Kibaou situate himself on a couch next to the window.
The warm sunlight shined throughout the entire living room.
Sioku and Kibaou rested against the couch pillows and remained silent.