Secret of SAO

The Contingency Plan

Shiro and the others stared at the fine towering beast.

"I can't believe we did it!" Sasamaru cheered.

"What are we waiting for? Let's ride it, already!" Ducker ran towards it.

"It's no good. I think we have to craft a saddle for it, first." Shiro pointed out.

"Well, let's hurry up and make the silly thing! I call dibs on riding it, first!" Tetsuo blurted.

Sachi smiled at her friends, but a nicking feeling was still there. She didn't mean to, but a part of her, withdrew from her friends. She had distanced herself, from them, even though they were trying to include her.

"You go on ahead." Shiro turned towards Sachi. He took her arm and started to lead her away.

"It's getting dark. Don't go too far!" Keita gave them a wink.

But Shiro didn't know for sure, who the wink was directed towards.

Shiro had to do something. He saw what kind of spirited girl, Sachi was, when he first logged onto ARK and he could not bare for her to drown herself out, any longer. Not really aware, that was exactly how he was making his own friends feel.

Sachi followed him in complete silence. It was getting dark and they weren't alone in this jungle.

Shiro finally stopped and pulled back a few vines, blocking their path. It revealed a beautiful waterfall, with a pretty little pond and the sound of the peaceful streams to accent this beautiful setting. But that wasn't even the best part. There were tons of dancing lights, floating all around the mist, emanating off the crashing water's junction point, giving off an array of sparkles, that could almost be mistaken for magic.

"Wow... It's soo beautiful." Sachi felt like she could float away. "How did you find this?" She was mesmerized by the stunning views.

"I came across it, yesterday..." Shiro had spent a lot of time alone, when the others preferred to stay together.

Shiro wished for a moment, that Asuna could be here. She would love it.

Sachi giggled and took Shiro's arm, leading him towards the water. She jumped in and when she surfaced, she watched the fireflies disperse. "Come on in!"

"I-I don't know..." Shiro racked his brain for a good reason. "... looks cold." Yeah, cause that'll work.

"Don't be silly!" Sachi grabbed his hand and pulled him in.

When he surfaced, he was about to be upset, but then he saw how happy she was. He couldn't bear to ruin it for her.

She splashed water in his face, and saw the fluctuation of the magical lights, circling them. She started splashing the fireflies and watched, as their speed increased and created a light show. "I bet they could write our names."

"Probably."

Sachi splashed him again, but this time, it caught him off guard.

"You aren't getting away with that!" He chased her, as she swam away from him, laughing her heart out.

He grabbed her and threw her into the water. Then it was his turn to burst out laughing. But in those moments, his mind suddenly turned to Asuna.

Asuna was doing so much for him and he was playing a game, with others. It was like he was acting like an ungrateful little child. The guilt consumed him and he couldn't bring himself to enjoy this peaceful setting, anymore. It was drowning him. There was still the problem, that he wasn't the same person. He could still hurt her...