Progressive Factor II: Lacrimosa Of A Reaper

Awakening and Realization

Kirito

"Well, Kirito, this is disappointing. All this sneaking and climbing for nothing."

"I didn't ask you to come with me."

"You know what will happen if Asuna found out you did this alone. And I know what will happen if Koharu found out I let you go off alone." Kirito grumbles at that winning point. Asuna will have a fit if she knew Kirito had gone off alone after stating she'd be keeping a 24/7 watch on him, and while Koharu might not have the same reaction, Kirito has seen her angry once, the previous morning before they headed out. Her disappointment debuff is a critical hit.

But Kirito does admit to himself that this does feel like a wasted effort.

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To back up, Kirito, Asuna, Jaymes, Koharu, and Kizmel has returned to the Kirito and Asuna's quarters for a chat. It was a long conversation about the in-world explanation of multiple Elf War Campaigns (in short, the elves repeatedly replace the gather keys with fake ones to throw off the other side) and then Asuna made an announcement of a surprise during Kizmel's day off. Wanting to spend more time with Kizmel, Asuna and Koharu decided they'll sleep tonight with Kizmel, so they shooed the boys into Jaymes and Koharu's room. The boys, too tired to care, decided it wouldn't hurt to share the bed.

As January 3rd became January 4th, Kirito woke up to an alarm set for two in the morning. He wanted to go back to sleep, hearing the gentle slumber of the other male, but what he had to do requires him to get up from the heavenly comfort. Carefully removing himself from the bed to not wake Jaymes, he snuck into the living room, then to the door and out to the hallway. He was fifty percent sure Jaymes would notice, but it seems the red swordsman loved his beauty sleep.

Equipping his sword and coat, Kirito was ready to head out when the door he just exited clicked closed again. Shocked that he hadn't snuck out, Kirito had to muffle his gasp in his throat while Jaymes stands with his arms crossed. "Where are you going?" he whispers.

"I... Just for a wa--"

"Where are you going?"

"...Just to make sure my nerves are wrong."

"Then lead the way." The boys sneaked up the central staircase of the west wing, exiting out a doorway to the castle's roof. After a quick look at the quiet courtyard several meters below, Kirito and Jaymes continued their trip around the uppermost exterior of the castle until they came about twenty meters to the central building. Comprising the restricted fifth floor of the castle, the structure is steeply angled but not vertical enough to prevent someone from climbing. Furthermore, the roof's peak reaches the edge of the surrounding cliffs.

"We're not...gonna climb the roof, are we?"

"You backing out now? Afraid of heights?" Kirito teased the boy behind him, face full of discomfort.

"N-No, I'm...not leaving you out of my sight." Jaymes still looked uncharacteristically nervous but isn't backing down. There's a chance they could fall off, but it wouldn't be a deadly fall back to where they are. Kirito only knows this because he tried several times to climb the fifth floor's exterior in the beta without success. But with better stats and better gripping boots than before, he's confident he'll get somewhere.

"Here we go!" Kirito dashed off first to the slanted roof, increasing his speed when he's about five meters away, then makes a massive jump. He stuck the landing on the roof's midsection. From there, he ran along the wall up the steep sloop. He nearly slipped after losing traction seven steps in, but managed to make it to nine before jumping off again.