Looking For Something Real (Sword Art Online)

18. Something Worth Fighting For

Chapter 18- July 13th 2025 "Something Worth Fighting For"

Tokyo

It was coming to the end of another date night with Liz. We were sitting in the restaurant of the mall eating cake and discussing the boss battles in new Aincrad.

"So you're telling me that the bosses in New Aincrad are harder? That doesn't seem right, we've been clearing the bosses without too much trouble so far" Liz asked with a mouthful of cake.

"It's a different battle though" I shrugged. "Bear in mind back in SAO the goal was not just to beat the boss, but to survive. Players were much more cautious since one wrong move and bam! You're dead for real. Also we didn't have mages to heal us or shoot from range, if you wanted to hurt a boss you had to close in."

"I guess people do seem reckless in the boss fights sometimes but you and Kirito are always on the frontline dealing damage and dancing around attacks. And then Asuna goes all 'Berserk Healer' and charges in too. I'd say you lot are more reckless than any of the other players and you guys are assault team vets!"

"Ah but we aren't reckless you see." I said raising a finger, as if telling a story to a child. "We have learnt to predict patterns in the boss's attacks and exploit them. We had to in order to survive. So while we may seem reckless it's more that we are testing the waters and waiting for the time to strike. We also work better as a team because of it since we don't just see patterns in the boss, but in each other too."

Liz nodded but seemed unconvinced. "I dunno, I just don't think a game where you can die and respawn can ever be called harder than a game where you die IRL."

I shrugged. "I guess it's difficult to explain but even though these bosses feel harder, I'd take them over any of the boss fights we had in SAO."

My mind wandered to memories of some of the more gruelling fights we had in SAO. A slideshow of all the death I had seen played through my mind, all culminating in watching Asuna die shortly followed by Kirito. I could still feel my rage burning every time that replayed. I was snapped back by Liz's voice.

"Tyzn... hello??... Earth to Tyzn!" I blinked a few times and Liz reached her hand to mine. "Are you ok?" she asked looking concerned.

"Yeah sorry, just zoned out is all." Liz gripped my hand tight.

"I can see the look on your face when you do that, I know whatever it is scares you. I'm always here if you need to talk you know." Liz looked a combination of scared and worried as she looked into my eyes.

"I know and I will some other time I promise, but right now we should head home, it's getting late."

Liz looked at her phone and gasped "Oh crap, yeah."

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Liz gripped my hand tightly as we walked. I had obviously scared her when I zoned out and it made feel guilty. All I wanted was for Liz to be happy and if these memories ended up making Liz fee bad too, then I had to find a way to deal with them once and for all.

Something made the hairs on my neck stand up as we walked. I couldn't tell what but something just felt wrong.

After a few more blocks I noticed a skinny man following close behind us and as we rounded another block a fat man appeared from down an alleyway to block our path while a third short and stocky man crossed the road to surround us.

On instinct I reached to my back but found no glaive to help me. Liz pulled in close to me and I moved to position myself between everyone as best I could. Skinny pulled a short blade from his coat, just enough to make it clear that he was armed but not enough to have it on full display.

"Alright kiddies, wallets and phones and you can leave." Stocky said with a menacing grin.

For fucks sake, this shit again! I thought. I found myself assessing the assailants just like I would in SAO or ALO but came up short. I'm unarmed, outnumbered and most importantly I have to protect Liz no matter what!

In the end I saw only one course of action. I slowly reached into my pocket and began to pull out my wallet.

All of a sudden the fat guy lunged at Liz grabbing her shoulder. "Let's take the bitch too!" he screamed.

In an instant it felt like a fire within me sparked up, a flood of warmth, anger and fear surged forth all at once. With a speed which surprised even myself, my fist clenched and hurtled straight at the guy holding Liz. I clocked him square in the jaw and sent him tumbling back towards the alley.

I pushed Liz clear of the coming fight and heard her land with a thump in the alley behind me, at least she would be safer.

My right arm raised to block the stocky man's punch as my left arm swung around to counter blow and hit him in the side of the ribs.

It was then that I felt a sharp pain and as I turned my head to see the cause, skinny's arm was outstretched and burying a knife into my shoulder. I pushed him back away from me and the pain of the knife exiting far exceeded the initial stabbing.

Then a scream from behind me shut out the rest of the world. From the corner of my eye I saw the fat guy lunge out a punch towards Liz, who was now sitting up. His fist made contact and I saw her cheek distort from the impact.

The world turned red, I could hear my heartbeat thumping in my ears and could feel that fire turn into an inferno. Flashes of the terrible memories from SAO flew through my mind as rage overcame me.

What followed were lapses of consciousness as one second I was pelting the fat guy in the face with my foot. The next I was throwing the stocky man to the floor while applying pressure to his shoulder, hearing a loud pop in the process. Finally I saw the skinny man grimacing as I grabbed his wrist and pulled the knife from his hand with a painful grip I had learnt in my Jujutsu class.

When I came back to reality the stocky and skinny men were getting back to their feet with me looming over them, a blade in my hand. I let out a guttural cry and stepped to engage slashing out with the knife. However the two men ran in unison and all I managed to do was cut the back of one of their coats.

My anger screamed for me to chase them but my heart begged me to go to Liz. In the end, as the red fog cleared, it was my heart that won.

I dropped the knife to the floor and sprinted back to Liz, jumping over the fat man who seemed to be out cold on the floor. Liz lay on the floor clutching her cheek in one hand and crying uncontrollably. I dropped to my knees by her side and put a hand on her head. Tears began to fall from me too as I looked at her with a whirling mess of anger and sadness.

"It's ok Liz... it's over... it's over" I said through gasped breaths.

Liz opened her eyes and gasped before slamming them shut again and leaping towards me. She grabbed me by the arm and screamed at the top of her lungs "Tyzn you're hurt, we need an ambulance!" she plunged her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone. With shaking hands she started to dial for emergency services.

Her cheek was already red and beginning to swell, keeping my bubbling rage turning over just below the surface. I felt an urge to continue laying into the unconscious man behind me and struggled to keep myself from doing so.

Over Liz's sobs I could just make out what was being said by the person on the other end of the line and despite it Liz was doing great at keeping her answers precise and accurate, that is up until I heard the voice on the line ask her to calm down. "Don't tell me to fucking calm down!" Liz screamed.

I couldn't help but laugh at her response, but when I did I felt a wave of dizziness come over me. Glancing down at my shoulder for the first time I realised that the wound was deep and was still letting out blood at an alarming rate. I tried to look up to Liz to warn her but I felt my whole body go limp and the world go dark.

"Tyzn... NO!" was the last thing that I heard.