Mirage Blade

Chapter Two: The Chase Begins

Okay, I must apologize to everyone who read the eyesore of a first chapter. Sad to say, this one won't be much better, but chapters three and onward will (hopefully) remedy that.

Well, I guess I should tell you all that the entire purpose of this chapter is to set things up for the real story to start flowing. I'll leave it up to you guys to interpret what that means for now.

I guess I'll see you in the bottom author's note. Have a good read!

"Is that… really what you think?" Yuuki asked me, her voice shaking ever so slightly as more tears came to her eyes. "That I hate you?"

Taken aback by the tone of her voice, I could do nothing but watch as she prepared to spill her heart out. She looked as if she would break down at any moment. All the pieces, all of the gestures of kindness that I thought were sickeningly false, everything… everything was clicking into place. It was then that I realized…

She… she didn't hate me… she loved me!

"Yuuki…" I whispered, sitting up and looking at her with wide, regretful eyes.

She didn't see my expression, for her face was hidden by her long, violet hair. I could still see tears running down her face, and all I could do was watch helplessly as she cried.

"Well, you're wrong!" the violet-haired girl shouted, looking up to meet my eyes. I could see desperation, sorrow, anger, but most of all… I saw betrayal in her eyes. "I… I could never hate you! I love you! You're the first person to make me feel this way! But if you hate me…"

Yuuki got up, looking into my eyes one last time before looking away, tears streaming down her face. "Then I'll leave! You'll never have to deal with me again!"

With that, she ran off. I wanted to go after her. Hell, I knew I had to go after her…

So why did I just watch her leave?

"You did what?!" the man sitting across from me shouted, catching the attention of nearly everyone in the diner. "Are you crazy?!"

"Keep it down, will you?" I said in a hushed tone, lowering my right hand to illustrate my request. "You're going to make the entire damned diner listen in to us."

"Oh, right…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. His expression then changed to one of anger, making me flinch for the faintest of moments.

The red-headed man sitting across from me at the diner was none other than the wielder of the «Battoujutsu» skill, leader of «Fuurinkazan», and my first friend in SAO, Klein. His normal happy-go-lucky attitude had vanished upon hearing of my most recent mistake, replaced by an angry demeanor that, to be quite blunt, scared the hell out of me. After all, he did have a «Unique Skill».

"But seriously, what's wrong with you?" Klein continued, though his voice was noticeably less intense. "I knew you were dense, but I didn't know you could be so downright stupid."

"I don't know where to begin with that one," I retorted, putting up my usual façade of calmness. "I just… I feel like crap now… how long do you think she…?"

"Probably from day one, from what you've told me," Klein said, giving me a grim expression. "Or at least, that's probably when it started."

That's right. I told Klein almost everything, from when Yuuki and I met, all the way to when she left right after my revelation. Of course, I left out the part about her having a «Unique Skill». I'm a man of my word, after all, and I assured Yuuki I wouldn't tell anyone.

"So all this time… I thought she didn't trust me. That she hated me. How could I be so damn dense?" I said softly, putting my face in my hands. "I noticed with every other girl… but not Yuuki…"

"Man, you're really taking this hard, aren't you?" Klein asked me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "What are you gonna do?"

I… I have to…

"I have to find her!" I shouted, slamming my hands down on the table. It shook under the force of my massive STR stat, and all eyes in the diner turned to me. But I didn't care. "I have to find her and apologize!"

"Atta boy!" Klein said, patting my shoulder before withdrawing his hand. "I knew you'd figure out what to do!"

We both got up at the same time, and I smiled at him before saying, "You sound like an old man when you say that. Dude, you're not my grandpa."

"I'll let the old man comment slide for now," Klein said, walking past me. He gave me a pat on the back before walking towards the door. I heard one last thing from him before he left.

"I hope things work out between you two."

"Thanks."

With that, he left the diner.

Now alone with my thoughts, I couldn't help but feel a little afraid of what might happen.

What if she hates me now? she did say she loved me, but still…

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of any unsettling thoughts. When I looked up, I decided…

"I have to go right now."

As I walked out of the diner, I began to reminisce about the time Yuuki and I spent together.

Short, I know. This chapter was merely a setup for what is to come, so bear with me for a bit, okay?

Next chapter, I'll be starting out the story from where it actually should have started out: when Kirito and Yuuki met.

I guarantee that the future chapters for this story will be longer than this one, so please try not to kill me over having a short chapter.

Well, I guess that's about it. Here's the disclaimer.

I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations.

See you in the next chapter!