Black Blood (SAO fanfic w/ Soul Eater aspects)

Laughing Coffin

Katherine's POV
The next morning I awake to a sleeping Max in my face. I smile at his calm form. I don't move from my position, just continue to lay next to him. I look at his sleeping form, my eyes lingering a little too long on his lips. I lean forward and softly press my lips to his. He stirs from his sleep and I jerk back. "Hey Teddy," he says. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" I ask. "I don't mind. It's just another moment I get to spend with you," he says. "You know what I find strange?" I ask. "What?" he replies. "The first time we met, we killed three people. Then we went our separate ways, never to see each other again right. Nope! We both get trapped in this stupid death game together and are teamed from day 1. It's almost like something keeps pushing us together," I say. He nods his head in agreement. "I'm glad. Even if we did kill three men, we had good reasons. We were protecting each other. Hey. Do you know where you got to ice ability from?" he asks. "No. All I know is that everyone of the children inside that ring have a connection to one of the elements or different form of elements. I just guessed that you were ice because of you hair and eyes. I guess that's how you can tell," I say. "That makes sense. Hey, let's get up and make breakfast before the shopping trip!" he says, excited about shopping. "Yeah!" I reply, trying to match his level of enthusiasm but failing. I giggle and grab his hand, pulling him down the hall and into the living room. The smell of food is in the air when we reach it. Asuna stands above the stove and Kirito is lounging out on the sofa. "Good morning!" Kirito says. I wave and grab a piece of bacon off of the plate. "Eat up, then we'll leave," Asuna says. I grab a plate and fill it with food. "Hey Teddy," Kirito says. I look up at him and shrug my shoulders. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this whole 'Beater' business. I just didn't see another way out," he says. "I was gonna say the same thing, but you beat me to the punch. I accepted the 'Beater' term anyway. Don't feel bad," I say. He gives a curt nod and continues to eat his food. I finish and push the plate away. Asuna is the only other one who is done. "Hey Teddy. Let's talk," she says. "What is it Asuna?" I ask when the door closes behind us. "I believe everyone in this game was in the trials," she says. "The trials?" I ask. She sighs. "Your ice/water right, and so is Max. I'm fire. Kirito is shadows. I believe that in this game are a lot of us. I don't know how. This is just a guess, but I believe they had something to do with it," she says. "You're like me," I whisper. "Hai," she says. I grab her hands. "It's ok," I say, "In here the memories can't get us." "But they can get you," she whispers. "Yes, but that is my problem to deal with," I say, "Now come on. We have to leave!" I drag her into the living room. "We're ready!" I say. I grab Max's hand and Asuna grabs Kirito's.
We arrive in town shortly thereafter and walk into a shop. "Hey Max!" The shopkeeper says. "Oi, Psyche, how are you man?" Max says. "Alive and well," Psyche says, "So what brings you here? I thought you were in the assault team." "We are. We're here for rings," Max says, holding up our entwined hands. "You're getting married! Introduce me to your lady friend," Psyche exclaims. "I'm Teddy. You are?" I ask. "I'm Psyche. Max's friend outside this game and in it. He's really a good guy," he says. "I'm Kirito. This is Asuna. We are uhhh. I don't know how to describe our relationship," Kirito says. I laugh. "Anyway rings," Max says. "Oh right," Psyche says pulling outa tray. Ten minutes later we are walking down the streets married. "Do you guys wanna start a guild?" I ask. "Sure why not," Asuna says. "What should we call it?" Kirito asks. "Well. All four of us have special skills. Kirito has dual-wielding, Asuna has lightning flash, Teddy has the demon-sword, and I have streaming information," Max says. "Wait so the four people who have the skills to beat this game were, by chance, in the same party during the first boss raid. That's rich!" Kirito laughs. "What about The Four Horseman?" I ask. "That's a really good idea, Teddy," Asuna says. "Thanks, I try," I say with a bow. "So who should be the leader?" I ask. "I vote Max," Asuna says. "What?" Max says. "I agree," Kirito says. "Me too," I say. Max blushes hard. "Uhh, thanks, I guess," he says. "Well since I hate shopping and I want to fight, I suggest that we go kill originals on our own," I say. "Sure, why not!" Asuna says. Both boys shrug and we start heading toward the uncharted forest. "Max since you're the smart one you organize the battle strategies. Tell us what to do," Kirito says. "Sure," Max says. We leave the safe area and hear some rustling in the bushes. Kirito draws his blades and so does Asuna, but then something unexpected happens. Four darts shoot out from the trees, hitting their targets and paralyzing all four of us. I hear laughter then three men step out from the trees. One of them is wielding a scythe, one is laughing, and all three have masks. "Laughing coffin," I spit out. "What was that?" The scythe wielder says. "You guys are like laughing coffins. You are a murder guild right? Or at least wannabes," I say. "Laughing coffin. I like it," the laughing one says. The other man draws a knife. "I wanna hear your screams," he says, walking toward me. "No!" Max says. He laughs. He drags the knife down my leg and I smile. "To smile in the face of death, that's admirable," he says. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life," I say. "Bloody needle!" The blood trickling from my wound and his knife shoot out to impale him, lowering his health to the yellow zone. He cries out in pain. I stand up. "What? How are you standing? You're supposed to be paralyzed!" The scythe guy says. "You know how paralysis works, right. The poison travels in the blood stream. It doesn't work on me. My blood is poison all on its own," I say. "Ragnarock." My sword appears in front of me and I grab it out of the air. I hold the tip to the man's throat. "I would hate to lose three more players to the originals," I say. "I like you, girlie. Mizuko come. Let's go," the scythe wielder says. Then the three of them disappear into the woods. I turn around and pluck the darts out of my friends and myself. Slowly they sit up. "I didn't know that your blood is poison," Asuna says. "It causes unbelievable pain to player that have been hit by it. It's one of the things that make the demon sword so scary. If you get cut by it or hit by one of my other attacks it hurts like hell. It actually hurts me too, but the pain has faded because of the constant exposure. It hardly hurts at all anymore," I say. "I didn't know that!" Max says. "Yeah, that's why when I first used it the pain was unbearable," I say. "You learn something new everyday!" Kirito says. "How about we go home and create our guild?" Max says,"I'm not in the mood for fighting." "Sounds great! What is our icon gonna look like?" Asuna says. "Leave that to me," I say. When we get home, Max opens up his menu and creates the guild. He invites us all and I pull up the icon editor. After an hour I finish. It is made up of four squares. One with two swords, one black one teal, and a gray background, one with black letters streaming across it and a white background, one with a white lightning bolt and a red background, and one with black blood dripping down and a teal background. I upload it and it appears next to our health bars. "This is amazing Teddy!" Asuna says. "Art was my past time before I got into video games and the beta," I say. "Nice," Kirito says.