Do It For Him: Kirisuna

Inching Insecurity

Asuna's POV:

"DAMN IT" Kirito screams.

In the tundra biome, the harsh wind pushed past all of us. The flurries made it hard to see the beast in front of us. 'The Gemini Yeti' was a snowy big-foot creature with 2 heads, 4 arms, and 2 sides altogether. He could regenerate with the snowfall. When we attacked one side, the other side would heal. The gate to floor 80 was so close, but seemed impossible to time the attacks.

"Kirito, what do we do?!" Silica yelped in helplessness. Kirito looked at everyone with great concentration.

"Sinon, you attack side one, Liz and Silica, give her support!" he directed.

"On It!", they all confirmed then ran to the other side of the Yeti.

"Leafa, Asuna, one of you focuses on healing us, and the other focuses on preventing the other side from doing so." 

"Roger that!" Leafa saluted and immediately began her healing spells. I retreated to my magic attacks.

 "I'll need a heavy hitter for this one. Alice? It's you and me. We're gonna attack as hard and as fast as we can, then rotate. Are you with me?" 

The former knight unsheathed her blade. I watched Kirito and her take on the same position, probably a form they learned as knights.

As their attack launched, I saw Kirito smile... The one he always gives when he knows we'll win. But this time felt different. The pair danced in perfect unison. An ache struck my heart as if it made my chest 50 pounds heavier.

That... that used to be me. I used to be Kirito's number-one girl. "Heavy Hitter"? Does that mean I'm not? And Alice of all people. The girl who grew up with my boyfriend, and refuses to acknowledge that we are even together, was now closer to him than I was.

They truly looked like equals. Before ALO, getting stronger in SAO was all I cared about. At some point, I was stronger than Kirito. I let myself fade to the back, when did I become so weak?

One finishing shot and the yeti was gone. Heaving, Alice and Kirito looked to each other in victory.

"Hallelujah!" Liz collapsed making Silica giggle.

Leafa squeezed my shoulder and ran ahead of me to me the group at the gate.

I wanted to go, but my heart told me to run. I have to suppress these emotions. I can't be the jealous girlfriend!

I stayed silent behind the group, watching Kirito high-five the others and then do a new handshake with Alice. My heartache intensified. The only person he did that with was Eugeo, and he has long passed. Even Yui flew out of Kirito's pocket to hug Alice's cheek. 

I was being replaced.

"Let's open that gate and hang out at the cabin, PLEASE!" Sinon said with irritation.

"Oooh, someone's hangry," Kirito laughed and teleported home after entering the gate. I watched everyone disappear one by one.

"I-I can't go... I have to get stronger. Somehow..." I say to myself. I racked my brain for every solution I could think of. I needed to train, but who else was strong enough to teach me?

.... EIJI! He could help me!

I didn't want anyone to follow me or suspect what I was doing. I turned my geolocation off to my friends. The town of beginnings is where he usually roams.

I teleport to the first floor. My old cloak proved useful in hiding my flashy gear and blue hair.

Walking around almost brought tears to my eyes. The old memories, old friends, the people who've died along the way. They are all the more reason why I have to get stronger. To prove I am worthy of being here.

"Flash? What are you doing here alone?", I bumped into the tall figure I was looking for.

"Eiji! I was looking for you... actually."

"Oh really?" he raised his brown in curiosity.

"I need you to train me to be stronger here. I feel as though I've become weak, and at some point, you were the strongest player here."

"Okay. You do know the strength in this game is more about mental capabilities, right? That you're only as strong as you think you can become? You'll need a lot more mental training than anything. Then I could show you some techniques. But..." he paused looking into the air, tapping his chin.

"What? Please?" I begged with my hands.

"What's in it for me?" he relaxed.

"Well, ... what do you want?"

"Yuna and I are terrible at English class. You, are amazing at it. Help me study for my college final and I'll help you train."

"WHAT?! That means I'll have to skip out on studying with Kirito!"

"Do you want to get stronger to protect your friends or what?"

I sat and thought hard about it. Most of our game experiences have been life or death. I have to make sure I'm always ready.

"I'll tutor you, but you can't tell anyone we are training. I don't want them to think any less of me. Deal?". I looked him dead in the eyes, he needs to know I'm being serious and sincere.

"Deal. I'll meet you near your cabin in the game. 1 hour study time, 1 hour training". He smirked walking off. And for once, I felt hope for myself.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I'm backkk! I'm sorry this took a while to cook up. I'm still finding a way to give my last story a proper ending. But this book idea made me excited. I needed to share it with you all. Enjoy the first chapter. Thank you for supporting me <3!!