The Seventh Case

Chapter 11

Asuna

Asuna felt as if a bomb had been placed inside her head. She opened her eyes and she wished she hadn't. Her double vision worsened her headache and it took all of her might not to scream instantly.

"That was an amazing finish, Asuna", a female voice spoke from her side. Asuna gently turned to see a woman in a traditional Knights Of The Blood Oath costume. Asuna had seen her at times, but she did not hold a significant position and as far as she remembered, she did not have a significant contribution.

"How long was I out?", she groaned out. Asuna's shoulders hurt and she felt as if her back was bent like a fishing rod.

"Around two days", she answered and Asuna raised her eyebrows in surprise. The hit was rather strong, she would not deny it - but two days?

"There is another important information. For our string of victories, we have a gift from Kayaba-san", she smiled causing Asuna to frown. A gift from that man was definitely a double edged sword. There was ALWAYS a catch.

"We will be able to fight the next floor's boss tomorrow", she said smiling at Asuna whose eyes shot up in surprise.

"How so? I mean, it is obvious that there is a catch", she said and the woman nodded her head.

"The boss is only open for thirty minutes. We lost the first fifteen minutes to the other side, and it is obvious that even that Kirito would find it impossible to defeat the boss in that short time", she said and Asuna opened her menu immediately.

She was aware that Kazuto blamed himself for their fate, and no matter how much she would say otherwise, he would not buy it. In the short span of their meeting and their small chats, she could observe that.

"It would be better off if you do not fight today, Asuna. None of us have any hopes of victory. We are just going there for the information", she said but as per her expectations, Asuna violently shook her head.

"I am not giving up a single chance...I don't want to fall behind him", she stated with a faint and beautiful blush on her cheeks. Asuna felt warm on thinking about him - his angelic face, his beautiful eyes, and that amazing smile of his.

"You are somehow related to Kirito, aren't you?", she asked Asuna with a sly grin. Asuna stared at her blankly and raised her eyebrow.

"If your speculation is true, would it be considered a problem?", Asuna asked causing the other woman to break into a hearty laughter.

"Of course not, I mean, though his methods are presumed to be well, unorthodox, I don't have any reason to hate him. I have tons of reasons to be wary of him or be afraid of him, but none to hate him. Your menu started to go haywire with messages, so I had to take the liberty to get rid of them. Before you go ballistic, I have not deleted them and neither have I read any of your messages. So, who is he to you?", she stated, flashing her pearly smile.

"He is my f-"

"WE HAVE TO GO NOW!!", a member interrupted Asuna, crashing open the door. The two of them got up and the woman looked at her with a soft frown.

Without a second's hesitation, she slammed her fist towards Asuna's face, and the latter caught her fist in the nick of time - less than an inch away from her nose. Before Asuna could retort or complain, the woman smiled and nodded her head. "You are good to go, Vice commander"

"I know I am", she stated, slapping both her cheeks with the entirety of her might, the sound of the impact continued to reverberate throughout the room, possibly even the floor.

"Let's go", Asuna mumbled ignoring the looks given to her by her colleagues.

Kazuto

He was blankly pacing in front of the door of the boss' room. Kazuto had not received a reply from Asuna. She was not one to ghost on him and if she thought that he was being rather intrusive into her life, she might have mentioned it. Her messages' wordings did not seem to show any signs of displeasure or simple formalities.