Archive of My Own

Chapter 2: Thanksgiving in SAO (Part 1)

It's been two weeks since launch. So far, about one thousand people have died. Most have died to suiside, very few to actual monsters. Only a few people tried to clear the first floor, but all attempts have failed. About 50 of that 1000 lives were lost just to refusing to leave the boss room.

Kirito and Kirsten have leveled up an insane amount, already becoming the highest level players. While most were level 5 or under, the two have surpassed 15. How have they done it, you ask? Early on, Kirsten decided she wanted to work on her cooking skills, as she had a hard time surviving on bread alone. It would also save the two a lot of money if they made their own meals. To do that, they had to hunt for their own ingredients, which lead to a lot of EXP in the process.

The two both kept their Beta Battle Styles, as they both liked them. They did, however, change when they made their stats better. Kirsten mostly focused on her defense instead of her speed. Kirito mostly focused on his speed instead of attack. (Thanks to Kirsten's suggestion: using his speed to dodge enemies and attacking little by little was perfect on the first floor. Their enemies weren't that hard yet and they gained stats in multiple categories for each level up anyway.)

Thanks to their fast leveling up, they were able to get a good amount of money and rent a room with a kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Those were very expensive and no one else had one. Since there was only one bedroom and the two weren't the same gender, Kirito let Kirsten have the privacy. He slept on the couch.

Every day, they would go out and fight monsters in order to earn enough money to hold onto the room for another week. On the 3rd day, Kirsten suddenly collapsed on the field. Kirito had to carry her back to town and go to their currently small rented room, where he placed her on the bed. He tried to think of the cause for this and realized she didn't plug her NerveGear into a power source before diving in. The issue probably had to do with the fact that she was home alone for that whole time and no one was able to plug her into a power source. She didn't wake up for a full 24 hours.

Back in the present, Kirito woke up to Kirsten cooking something simple (since her cooking level was still terrible.) She had a sad expression on her face.

"You ok, Kirsten?" He asked. She didn't respond right away, too focused on something.

"Kirsten?" He asked again, this time getting her attention.

"Oh, good morning Kirito!" The American said, putting on a quick forced smile. "Everything is ok, see?"

Kirito spent the past 2 weeks (alongside all those Beta months) with her and could easily tell she was lying. "We went over this, you don't need to hold everything in. It's not good for anyone's mental health."

Kirsten, who just finished making some scrambled eggs, walked over to the table and placed down two plates. "It's just..."

"Just what?"

The girl took a deep breath. "Thanksgiving is coming up soon... and I've never really wanted to celebrate it with family this much..." Tears ran down her eyes. "I miss them..."

"Thanksgiving..." Kirito took a bite of his eggs. "Oh, you mean 'Kinro Kansha no Hi' - that's what we call it in Japan, although I believe our customs are very different."

"How so?" The girl asked.

"I don't actually know, to be honest." Kirito admitted. "I just heard that in America, you guys do a LOT. Compared to us who mostly see it just as another 'off day' ...we don't have school on that day, nor does the government work that day. It happens every November 23rd."

"I see." Kirsten could kind of see what he meant. She was also eating her eggs, but a bit faster.

"It's mainly a day where we are thankful to the people who have worked during the year." Kirito took more bites. "What's it like in America?"