Rare Gemstone (Kirito x reader)

Chapter 4

(Y/n)'s POV

~The next day~

We had packed up all the tents and equipment and were ready to head off. Did nothing fun ever happen in my life? It seemed as if despair and suffering was the only thing in store.

"(Y/n), watch out!"

Kirito pushed me to the side and caught the arrow.

"It seems that the princess has a bodyguard. What do we do?"
"Take them down."
"Yes sir."

Kirito cracked his knuckles and smirked. I could tell that he was going to enjoy this.

"But uh master, he looks dangerous," exclaimed the third thief.
"Does it look like I care?! Just think about the riches that we could have if we had the princess!"
"Don't worry, (Y/n). I won't let those three measly thieves get anywhere near you," Kirito said.

Kirito...I smirked and stood beside him.

"You think I'd let you have fun without me? Not a chance."

He just laughed and charged at the leader. I ran towards the other two, holding my katana in my hand. When they came into range, I slashed the katana at their guns, which caused them to break into two pieces.

"H-how?! How can a mere katana do this to our guns?!"
"Did you really underestimate me? Did you not think that I would have a weapon like this? Wow, that just hurts my pride as a princess."
"Tch, get her!"

I jumped up and kicked his jaw while dragging the other one down. I threw him into the air and punched him.

"Y-you're a monster!" yelled the one that I had kicked.
"Well, all that training actually paid off."
"L-let's get out of here!"

They ran away. Tch, what cowards...
How was Kirito doing? I looked in his direction and noticed that the leader was unconscious.

"You're a good fighter," he complimented.
"Thank you."

We got on our horses and headed down the path. Thieves were so weak these days...there were no worthy opponents.

If that much training made me this strong, I wonder what would happen to my brother. Would he be like the legendary knight that no one could defeat? But no...I didn't want to see him turn into an emotionless killing machine.

Kirito's POV

She really was good at fighting. I was sure she would have a lot of fun with my friends. We could go travelling together...but that wasn't the case.

*sigh* I had to go back home some day. I couldn't avoid my parents forever. But if I could just prove to them that I was capable of living out here...nothing I did ever pleased them. It was like I was...only a decoration that they made, nothing less and nothing more.

Tch, I hated living like that. I've managed to escape for now but that doesn't mean that I could keep on running forever.

~Some time later~

"(Y/n), there's someone there."
"Well, it seems that the infamous black knight is the princess's bodyguard. How long has it been, Kirito?" Andrew asked.
"Tch, you scared me. Where's Klein?"
"Hiding. We thought you were bad guys," he replied with an embarrassed grin.
"Do you know them?" (Y/n) asked.
"Yeah, they're my friends. That's Andrew and the one hiding in the bushes is Klein."

(Y/n)'s POV

A guy with maroon hair immediately ran up me and shook my hand.

"It really is an honour to meet you, your highness. I've always wanted to see a real princess! My name's Klein. Kirito's such a lucky guy, you know. Getting to-"

Before he could continue, Kirito had punched his face.

"Alright, no more talking. We have to get on our way," exclaimed Kirito.
"Aww, you're no fun at all," Klein replied.

I just smiled and continued down the path.

"My apologies for his behaviour. I'm Andrew."
"Nice to meet you, Andrew. I'm (Y/n), please just call me by my name. No formalities needed."
"*laughs* I see you're just like Kirito."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Don't worry about it," Kirito replied while avoiding eye contact.

*sigh* It seemed that he was hiding something from me. I wonder what it was. But it was probably none of my business. It wasn't good to meddle with somebody else's business. If they wished to keep it a secret, I have to respect that.

~Afternoon~

I was leaning against a tree, trying to visualise the peace treaty. There would be a meeting taking place on the day the peace treaty would be signed.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Kirito.
"Nothing much, just how my mission will go."
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Swilvane's a good place, I'm pretty sure Princess Asuna will be good too...as in personality wise."
"I hope you're right."

Suddenly, he moved his arms but I quickly ducked and moved behind him.

"Nice try."

He just smirked and chased after me. What were we doing? I felt ridiculous.

"(Y/n)! Klein! Watch out!"

I quickly spun around and managed to avoid bumping into Klein. Instead, Kirito grabbed onto my arm which made me lose my balance. We ended up falling into the river.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to do that," he apologised.
"It's fine-"
"But that was fun, wasn't it? You were distracted from your thoughts, right?"

Huh? I didn't even think about it. He was right. Was that his plan from the beginning?

"Oi guys, I think I caught the biggest fish recorded in history!" boasted Klein.
"Yeah right *sarcasm*," Kirito replied.
"Guys, cut it out. I was the one that caught most of the normal sized fish, he caught the smallest fish," Andrew exclaimed.

Klein' face flushed red in embarrassment. I guess he did actually catch the smallest fish. Andrew threw it back into the river. Was it so small that it couldn't even be eaten? Wow...

Klein grumbled and well...was grumpy for the whole day just because Andrew threw back the only fish he had caught.