Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

The Insane Blade CHP. 7

Equipping some of the new clothes I picked up from Ashley in the morning, I stepped out of the bath and looked over to the swordsman who was staring off into space. After our joint bath time, he had stepped out for me to finish taking a proper one and was planted on the couch deep in thought. Although I had yelled at him for his recklessness on the bridge, the conflict in his eyes dealt with a much deeper pain that he hadn't told me yet. It wasn't uncommon for him to be lost in thought, but for him to not even react when I placed his favorite dinner in front of him and sat down right as his side spoke of how serious the matter was.

"Kirito."

Even calling out to him didn't have any effect, and when I took a good look at his expression, I could feel my chest tighten. He was in pain, and I could feel my blood boil at the thought of what was causing it. I always wanted him to smile, to act aloof and idiotic like always, to live freely as he had taught me. There were several ways to bring him out of his stupor, but what would be the best way to knock him out of his depression?

Oh...I haven't tried that yet...

Swallowing down my rising embarrassment, I decided to try out something I read in an old romance book that I had found on a random bookshelf in this world. Leaning in right next to his ear, I called out to him again.

"Kirrriiitoooo"

"H-huh?"

Finally noticing me, I quickly lowered my head towards his neck before he fully turned around.

Nom

"....!!! As-Asuna?!"

With a plain reaction at first, his entire body tensed up as I bit his neck, before he screamed and fell backward onto the couch with me right on top of him. Looking down into his face, I saw the light in his eyes return to normal as he was completely flustered and stared back at me.

"There, that face suits you a lot better."

"H-huh?"

"You had your 'thinking about depressive things' face earlier...and to make it even worse, you didn't even touch your favorite stew when I put it right in front of you."

"H-huh!?!?"

With a scream several times louder than when he called out my name, he looked over to the coffee table and widened his eyes at the sight of the stew that was still emitting smoke effects from the heat.

"Man...how did I miss out on that?"

"That's what I'm asking."

"...But, um...was that really necessary?"

"W-well drastic times call for drastic measures. Besides, you've done worse in the past."

"Heh?! When did I..."

Remembering the intimate action that he had initiated back at Yuna's concert, I could see his cheeks flush with a bright red, although it wasn't only his. Looking back up towards me, I could feel the emotions in my chest on the verge of exploding, but there was something more important to take care of first.

"What's wrong, Kirito?"

With the conflict in his eyes returning, I could tell there was a fierce internal argument going on within his mind. I didn't want to make him remember anything he didn't want to, but he was always the type of person to let those things consume him from within while he put on a brave front. They were the same walls I had always put around myself, and now it was my job to break those down for him. After patiently waiting for him, he sighed and grinned at me warmly.

"No real point in hiding it right?"

"Not that you could hide anything from me in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah I'm like an open book to you."

Suddenly grabbing me by the waist and pulling me close before I could react, I felt the warmth from his body and lips, the familiar sensation that I had missed horrendously just the night before, and hoped that I wouldn't have to experience it again. Lifting us both to a sitting position on the couch, Kirito began telling me about what happened after he had arrested the orange guild 'Titan's Hand'.

Our talk after he had returned to the guild home after changing the colors on his coat and rejoining the guild mostly covered his activities for the past two days and how he successfully managed to get the orange guild into prison without much trouble. Originally I was completely against him going out to hunt them by himself, but when even the commander butted in saying that I was too likely to be recognized, I had to settle with contacting the Fumaningun guild to act as his support during the trip. I couldn't help but be a bit curious about the person he was acting so familiar with, but we had settled on a meeting for tomorrow anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

What he hadn't told me until now though, was his meeting with one of the members called Kelax, a member of the reformed PK group led by The Man in the Black Poncho, PoH. Although Kirito had taken on a terrible burden by eliminating the first group he formed during the first 25 floors of AIncrad, it seemed that recently he had officially created 'Laughing Coffin', what would likely be the only 'Red' guild to ever exist here. Nautilus had offered to investigate more into it and report back when he found anything. I had also heard the increased orange attacks occurring on the lower levels, but...

"I had...a dream...the other night..."

"Hm?"

Trying to look into his eyes, Kirito suddenly looked downwards and I felt his body tense up as his grip on my hand tightened.

"I saw them...those 7...but you were also there...but I wasn't fast enough...I-I"

Pulling him towards me and putting his head on my shoulder, I began to comb his hair. It wasn't the first time he had suffered from nightmares, but over our time together they seemed to have disappeared recently. This was the main reason he was being tormented so much now, and the reason the Fumaningun had told me he was 'acting strangely'. I was the same though, yesterday had been the first time I had a nightmare as well, and couldn't shake the after-effects of it until I finally saw him again.

"Kirito-"

"I know, I'm fine now...but...sooner or later they're gonna show up again, but even with the prison system, I doubt it'll end peacefully...Asuna I-"

Lifting his head so I could look into his beautiful night sky eyes, I saw everything that he wanted to say. But this wasn't something I could accept.

"And we'll face them together. We're partners, right? So this time, we fight together."

"..."

I could still see that he was being torn within, but this wasn't something I could concede on. I was scared of fighting another player in this world, where it was a true fight to the death.

But that was nothing in comparison to the fear of losing him.

"I'll protect you Kirito, from them, from the monsters, from this world. I'll always be by your side, no matter what."

His expression began to soften and I felt the tension leave his body, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Yeah...and I'll always protect you Asuna...against everything, no matter what."

Closing my eyes and putting my forehead against his, it felt as if I could feel his pain dissipating and his mind finally relaxing. If only it could always be like this...

"Now, let's eat before it gets to-"

Cold, before I could finish that sentence, Kirito grabbed me again and pulled me closer, kissing me again. I could feel his emotions even stronger than before, and I gladly returned them. I would have never thought that I would find my reason for living in a world like this, but now that I had found it, I would protect it until the end. Even if the entire world turned against him, I would stand by his side with a smile on my face.