The Breaking Point - Kirisuna

Faith Pt.4: The Turning Point

No One's POV:

Kazuto muffled his repeated apology into Asuna's shoulder.

Although angered in the moment, Asuna brought herself to hold him through her sobs.

Yui peeked around the corner, a bit frightened to be caught in the mix. After all, this was her first time witnessing them fight so intensely.

The girl had learned something important. She knew her Papa wanted to protect the family, she validated that. She even thought Mama was being overreactive. It was clear to her that the PTSD her mother was going through was being fed by the trauma responses of her father's PTSD.

It was a never ending cycle that they were ignoring. Kazuto feels responsible for everything, even when he's not. So he conjures up all his strength to fight, not caring if it leads to the end because the people he cares about are worth dying for.

Asuna on the other hand... she's dedicated her life to protecting others as well. She will also use up all her strength and jump off the deep in for you. Literally, she had put herself in the situation to die for others before. She loves just that hard. Kazuto has done the same.

Asuna fears being abandoned and the Star Kings death was a wake up call for her. Kirito always wins, but it made her realize that they've been lucky. That one day, his recklessness would actually cause her to live a life without him.

Kazuto could care less about his life. He lives at the leisure of others. Most importantly, Asuna. He made the mistake of not protecting her before and he vowed to do better. Every time she gets hurt, it takes him to his dark place. The mindset in which it would be easy to kill, that scared him. He was more afraid of losing her.

The two needed to realize that they had the same goal, same fears, same trauma. The issue lies in how differently they showed this love to one another.

To Yui, it was her obligation to help her parents make it to their wedding.

"Mama, Papa..."

"Yui!" Kazuto and Asuna felt shame course through their body like lightning. How could they say such vile things in front of their precious little girl?

"You guys both just want to protect each other. You don't want to lose each other. Isn't that the point of this argument? Is that even cause for an argument?"

The pair stared dumbstruck. She's right. Why are they fighting?

"Yui, could you give us a minute." Kazuto straightens himself out and pulled Asuna up with him. He kept her hand tightly in his.

Yui smiled, confident that things would be sorted out. She swiftly went back to her room to continue her studies.

Their door was now shut. Two bodies sunk one side of the bed.

"I'm sorry, Asuna. I really am... I said a lot of things to hurt you and I didn't mean it. I never intentionally cheated on you and I feel like you'll never forgive me for it. I worked hard to prove to you that you're the only one for me. I wouldn't have proposed to you if I didn't feel that way. I do what I do to protect you, not to keep you in the dark. I'm always faced with hard decisions but I always put you first. I ALWAYS think of you first. Your safety and well being is the most important thing to me. I would never put you in harms way for my own benefit. Do you understand that? Do you understand why I never volunteer you for dangerous projects, MY job?.".

Asuna wiped her tears away. It was seldom that Kazuto shared his true feelings and fears to her. He usually kept it hidden, afraid it would be seen as weakness. He felt it was foolish to complain about the work he signed up for.

She felt relief. A part of her thought he was just jumping into action just because he loved it. And he did but... she didn't know he held onto this guilt that came with the decisions he made. Kazuto was acting like everything was fine earlier- Asuna was relieved to know that it was pretend and that she wasn't the only one who was terrified.

Asuna also felt some guilt of her own for bringing up cheating. Alice had already admitted she forced herself onto him. She saw he had suffered through their breakup. He did work hard for her love and that made her love him even more, if that was possible.

"I'm sorry too...". Kazuto scrunched his face, seemly confused because he already accepted defeat. " I'm sorry for holding that kiss against you. I know you didn't want that to happen. And though it did, and I was hurt, I do forgive you. Even during the breakup, I couldn't bring myself to think of being with anyone else. I've been upset recently because we made a promise. I promised to protect you. You promised to lean on me. So even if there's risk, I want you to trust me. I want to always fight by your side. Unfortunately, I'd follow you into hell if that's what we needed to do. I understand your worries, so please understand mine. I wanna be with you till death do us part. I don't want you nor I to die alone."

Die alone... it clicked for the Black Knight. He did promise that they'd be together forever, no matter what. It reminded him of the final battle in SAO. It reminded him of what Asuna had said right before...

"You know what would happen if you didn't come back, huh? I'd kill myself. I'd never forgive myself for staying behind so what would be the point in living?". As much as he hated it, Kazuto honored their undying loyalty to each other. It's what set Asuna apart from everyone else. She was HIS dedicated hero. No one else can say that.

Warmth returned to the couple after the unraveling of the fiasco. A simple communication error which lead to a hoard of animosity, was dissolved with tenderness.

"Ok. I'll accept your apology if you put the ring back on." Kazuto grabbed the tear and presented it again in the palm of his hand.

"Ring or no ring, I'll always be your wife."

"I'd prefer if you kept the ring on. You know you're popular with the boys, Lightning Flash."

Laughter ensued, followed by millions of transactional kisses exchanged in an embrace.

Yui smiled to her self in her room hearing the half muted giggles of her soulmate parents ignite.

It was only a matter of time before Ms. Yuuki became Mrs.Kirigaya. The small family secretly prayed for that day to come a little faster.

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A/N: Chapter title inspired by @PinkPrincessLacus 's comment on the last chapter, thank you for that cause I was going back and forth between names the day you commented .

Chapter content inspired by the song We Can Work It Out by The Beatles if you'd like to listen to an American Classic.

https://youtu.be/Qyclqo_AV2M

Thank you guys for all the support. I hope you enjoy!