The Day the World was Painted Red

Guilt and Revelations

Kirito POV

Steady streams of red, silky smooth liquid lazily came through the Tiles of the floor.

As if it was on purpose the blood streamed only around the pair of generals that were back to back and formed a red sphere above them, hiding the rest of the crowd from them and vice versa.

'It is starting.' Kirito said seriously

'Yeah' Asuna said calmly 'Ready?' She asked.

'Sure.' Kirito looked around the blood walls. 'When the stream ends and the sphere solidifies to make the cloaked human we dash out of here to help everyone.' Kirito said with the tiniest specs of urgency in his voice. Asuna cleared her throat.

'Kirito, you do realize you still haven't told me what I am helping them cope with right?'

'Sorry about that but we both don't have enough time and I don't even know perfectly yet.' Said Kirito apologetically.

As if to emphasize that the stream suddenly ended and they dashed at opposite directions of the plaza. Kirito ran, people parting at his way, until he was surrounded by the crowd. He turned around and raised his head to watch the giant game master with the best façade of confidence he could muster.

Don't show it.

He still felt sick from what he had seen.

Don't break. Not again. Especially not now in front of everyone.

Silica.

Don't think about her.

That innocent annoying little girl he had found in the woods, alone, abandoned, had become a killing psychopath. And it was his fault.

No, it isn't. Stop it. It is the worst time possible for this.

He gave her a new home, new people to love and befriend and she based her psychology on it all, only to be taken away again.

Not your fault. It's not your fault.

And the one she grew the closest to?

Don't think about her

Suguha.

The day when he told Silica will be etched in his nightmares forever.

No... Don't.

But it was too late. His mind already trailed off. Everything played out in front of him again.

Flashback

Kirito was on a raid to get a special item before the war.

The raid was a tough one and it had a 6 people maximum limitation.

Kirito, Klein, Silica, Argo, Lizbeth and Agil were here for 4 days now. They even had to sleep inside the dungeon in rows while someone stayed up to make certain no surprise attacks would occur. They wanted to take Leafa with them but the NPCs weren't enough to run the guild alone and even if they were Leafa's NPC... well let's leave that part alone.

It was the fourth night and everyone was beat. They had camped outside the boss door. Gathered around a fire sitting on the dirt, tents already set around them.

'So' Agil said breaking the silence they had as they were calming their nerves from a day full of fighting. 'Who takes the first shift?'

'Don't even think about it' said Lizbeth. 'I am beat. If I wake up at all it will be a miracle on its own right.'