Author's Note: Hey, guys! I thought that replacing the previous chapter wouldn't be such a great idea, since I'd basically be leaving you guys to constantly check the story for the update, so I decided to just put up a new chapter. I'm sorry for the super long wait, I just never got around to working on the story. Personal things going on IRL and a variety of holidays kept me offline. Having a plan (that I accidentally uploaded with Chapter 4 upon initial publication) definitely helped the speed as opposed to coming up with something new each time. Unlike previous AN's, I don't have a whole lot to say this time around. I'll see you at the bottom!

I need you right here, by my side
You're everything I'm not in my life
We're indestructible, we are untouchable
Nothing can take us down tonight
You are so beautiful, it should be criminal
That you could be mine.

And we will make it out alive
I promise you this love will never die!

No matter what, I got your back
I'll take a bullet for you if it comes to that
I swear to God that in the bitter end
We're gonna be the last ones standing

27-August-2024
Floor 68 Dungeon
16:36

Ow! Crap! That was nastier than I expected. I checked my HP bar to see 15% of my HP disappear. Shit! How strong are these guys?!

"Keita! Help get these guys off my back!" Kirito called from a few meters away.

"In a second!" I readied my Helicopter sword skill, an attack that spins my halberd overhead 720 degrees, and hit the mace user I was engaged on. He was knocked a couple of meters away and didn't get back up after. I guess he was hit with the hammer portion of the weapon.

Just as I was going to go and help Kirito, I froze at the thoughts racing through my mind.

Just finish him off! He's obviously a player killer! If you don't stop him now, he'll go off and hurt somebody else.. Hell, he's probably coming right for you when he wakes up!

"Just do it, now's not the time for mercy!" Sasamaru called from his position. He wasn't fighting anybody at the moment, but he was panting and shaking heavily. I soon realized the reason why: a cloud of blue polygons were floating up above him and fading quickly.

Oh, Maru...

After taking a deep breath, I charged an Overhead skill and shattered the unconscious criminal.

Floor 22, Kirito and Sachi's cabin
15:20

Why aren't they back yet? They've been gone for the better part of five hours! Even when we were racing to join the assault team, Kirito never kept us out in the fields for longer than four without a break. He hasn't responded to any of my messages, where the hell is he? Why are they even out anyway? Oh, right! He sold all of his sofas, chairs, tables, bed, and dressers with the flat in Algade! *sigh* I can't blame him too much... at least it means that he did it because he was eager to move in together in our own house. Just sit down, Sachi, you're worrying yourself too much.. they're some of the strongest players in the game. Kirito's at 93, Keita and Tetsuo are at 84, and Maru's at 82. Nothing's gonna be too much for them to handle, if they stay out of the higher dungeons at least.

I sat down on the back deck's porch swing and pulled out a Record Crystal Kirito and I bought shortly after we began dating. Inside were dozens upon dozens of pictures of moments we deemed worthy of saving: scenery while on dates, pictures of us in action on the front lines (some of which were posed), and even some of us sleeping.

I wonder if I can transfer these into the real world...

The smile on my face grew slightly larger every time I turned to a new picture until there was one the crystal pulled up in the end, the most recent shot. In it was Aincrad's Black Swordsman, my Kazuto, in front of me on one knee, silver ring in hand with my birthstone in the center. Even though it was only a picture, it was pretty obvious that he was shaking before and during the snapshot. He was barely able to get the words out before I said "Yes" and pulled him in for a kiss. Just thinking about it gave me butterflies... At the same time, thinking about his proposal now only made me miss him more...

I leaned my head back and tried to think of something to do, ideas deciding that they wouldn't come to me at the moment.

Wait! There's a forest, you idiot! Just take a walk around! Maybe you can find a lake you and Kirito can spend an afternoon around.

Once I got my combat boots and a white summer dress on, I made my way out to the neighboring forest. Luckily, there aren't many mobs on this particular floor, and my level is four times the floor number, so I had nothing to worry about. Just to be safe, though, I equipped a Dirk to my belt.

I went around exploring for a little over an hour through the trees and grass, listening to the songs the birds sang, the buzzing of insects, and watching how the sun's rays poked through the treetops before I found a small clearing to rest in. The breeze was gentle, there was just the right amount of sunlight, and there weren't any pesky virtual bugs flying around. It almost reminded me of the time Asuna got mad at Kirito and I for sleeping under a tree a number of months ago... Suddenly, I heard a loud rustling nearby.

"Who's there?" I asked as I drew my dagger. I looked around to find the source of the noise, making sure that I didn't overlook anything. As the scenery stayed silent, I tightened my grip out of nervousness. While my skills primarily lie with a lance, Kirito made sure to train all of us in self-defence with short swords, daggers, and even our fists if need be. Since there aren't any mobs in the area, it could only be a player who made the noise.

"I said it once, and I'll say it again! Who's there?!" I got into a defensive position, watching the trees and shrubs around me for movement or a cursor. Suddenly, I noticed a little girl collapse about five meters away from behind a tree.

Floor 68 Dungeon
16:45

Racing to Kirito's aid, I took a look at everyone's HP bar in my HUD to find that he already been knocked down to half. Maru and I had about 70%, and Tetsuo was almost completely full. He did a good job defending him.

Kirito had his hands full to say the least: he was taking on a mace user, the first player we came across, and their ax wielder. Their last player sat back up after apparently healing himself. Unfortunately for Kirito, all he could do was parry and avoid their attacks while they slowly wore down his health points.

Damn, they still outnumber us! Do something, you idiot!

I broke into a run towards Kirito with my Impale skill charged for the ax wielder when suddenly, I was knocked onto my back. The mace user was stuck in a post-motion delay with a triumphant grin.

I looked on my chest to see Kirito lying perpendicular to my body with his sword a meter away from the two of us. He wasn't moving, and he was stuck in the red zone.

Holy crap, did they knock him out?!

"Looks like your Black Swordsman is out of action! That's what the bastard gets for slashing by buddy Jack's face! Time to take out the trash mobs!" Jack, the mace user, sneered as the quartet charged towards me and Kirito. A large, red gash went from his lower left chin up diagonally to his right eyebrow.

"Hey! Get up!" I shook Kirito's shoulders violently. When I saw no reaction, I got up to my feet in a battle stance.

Shit! Half of us are down and out and the other two are the weaker of the four! Those bastards! I'm going to make them pay!

As the distance closed between me and the four PK'ers, one of them fell on his back and shattered after a long object impaled his chest.

"Jack! No! Jeff! Go kill the green fucking prick!" The leader with the dagger spat. I glanced at Maru to see him draw a Xiphos short sword from a scabbard on his waist, and his Obsidian Spear nowhere in sight.

Damn, Maru... He's not gonna be okay after this...

Not wasting a second, I used the spike ball counterweight like a rifle stock to smash in Jeff's face before he got very far. His Morning Star fell to the ground beside him. He's not getting to Maru or Kirito.

"Stay with Tetsuo!" I commanded. The remaining two continued charging towards me, weapons glowing a variety of colors. The one who must have been Jeff got back up and kept charging at Maru, who was standing over an unconscious Tetsuo.

Why didn't we teleport out before? If we did, we wouldn't be stuck in this situation right now. I mean, hell, we might not even make it out of here alive! Our best fighters are knocked out, and Maru's forced to fight out of his comfort zone. Assuming that fighting other players was in his comfort zone to begin with. Maybe Kirito would have an answer for all this, but for now, I'm fighting to protect him and myself. Sasamaru's obviously feeling the same way.

While I was doing my best to dodge and counterattack the relentless attacks from the leader and one of his minions, Jeff quickly went to work on Sasamaru, taking off about a quarter of his HP in the minute they've been fighting.

*Whack*

Ahh! Shit, that hurt! Where's my Halberd? Why can't I move?

I looked up to see the Dagger user in his post-motion delay for the Embracer melee skill, with his sword-using minion slashing at Kirito, who was still unconscious. Even though he has a high level and a lot of HP, he was still losing his hit points at a slow, steady rate from all the slashes. Once he finished cooling off, he walked over and picked up Kirito's Elucidator and tried swinging it around a few times. Jeff had gotten a successful swing at Sasamaru's chest and knocked him to the ground.

The long hallway the cavern created grew silent after several minutes of metal clashing, save for the sound of steel hacking into Kirito and the groans of three knocked out Black Cats. When I checked the Party Status in my HUD, I found Kirito still at 30% and decreasing, Maru at 18%, Tetsuo at 68%, and myself at 40%, with everyone except Kirito stuck with paralysis.

"Natos! Quit hurting the kid in black! I want him to be alive to see his friends die before he meets their same fate!" The dagger user called to the orange player in gray.

"Yes, Grim!" Natos replied, almost a little too eagerly.

"What have I told you about calling me by my name?! You are to refer to me as 'Sir' or 'Lord', you incompetent piece of data!" Grim roared. Natos cowered slightly before nodding.

"How do you like these suckers right here?" He turned to me and gestured to a set of brass knuckles on his right hand. "Drago's Fist here doubles damage done by melee skills, and passively inflicts status issues on whoever I happen to use them on. Anything I punch with them, I destroy. I didn't want to tell that little secret to just anyone, but seeing as to how that piece-of-crap NerveGear is gonna fry your brain before you walk out of here, what do I have to lose?"

"Gah! Ah! Ah!" Sasamaru cried out in pain as Jeff began dealing right hooks to his face.

"You. Fucking. Think. You. Can. Get. Away. With. Killing. My. Pal. Jack?!" He would say in between punches. With each blow, Maru's HP would dip slightly lower into the red zone.

Damn it, we're a bunch of sitting ducks!

"Hahaha, you know, I'm honored to be the one to shatter the notorious Black Swordsman. With his own weapon, too! He held his own really well when he fought several of us at once, I just thought he'd put up a better fight. Keita, was it?" He lifted my chin with the tip of his Bowie Knife and moved his head closer as if he were examining me. On impulse, I spat in his face, hitting him in his left eye.

"Ah! You son of a bitch!" Grim picked me up by the collar and began pounding into my head with Drago's Fist, chipping away at my HP with every blow. I don't know how much he's invested in his STR stat, but his punches felt like a sledgehammer slamming into my temple. It didn't take long for my vision to grow dark and cloudy and for a ringing to set into my hearing.

"Ha, the little bastard must've passed out from the pain!" Jack laughed as he took a step back from Sasamaru. He only had about 5% left and was seated against the wall.

"Leave him alone!" A new voice called out.

"Boss, did you hear that?" Natos asked, looking around the cavern.

"I heard," Grim responded. With a thud, I fell on my back to the ground. My HP was hovering around 20% and my vision growing even more blurry. On the ground next to me was Kirito's Elucidator, its hilt fairly close to my chin. "It's probably a couple of idiot players screamin' at the mobs. You know how they get."

Maybe if the paralysis wears off... No, I probably don't have enough Strength points... Then again, anything's worth a try at this point.

"There they are! Akagi! Get the guy with the Morning Star! Kaga! Hit the bastard with the short sword! I'll take Grim! Soryu, Hiryu! Get those other guys outta here!" The same voice echoed in the cave.

"Fuck! They're here! Boys, get ready to fight!" Grim commanded.

"And the other players?! He's almost dead! Can't I just hurt him a little more?" Jeff called.

"He's not going anywhere! You can kill him after we take care of these vigilante bastards!" Natos answered.

"I hope you don't mind if I use this," Grim said as he picked up the Elucidator. His sleeve came up slightly and exposed a small logo: an open coffin with a pair of smiling lips in the centre.

That bastard! I can't say I'm all that surprised, but they survived the crusade?!

Ahh.. my head... Damn it, not again! Now another person's gonna die... again.. on my... watch...

The sounds of metal chashing and the feeling of being dragged were the last things my mind registered before everything went black.

Kirito's POV
16:50

"Oi, buddy, you alright there? You guys look like you got beat up pretty badly. You lose anyone?" A distant voice asked. My vision was still slightly clouded and the ringing in my head wasn't as bad, but the pain in my head hasn't gotten remotely better. I stood up and saw that not only did everyone in my party have a full HP bar, but that none of us had any status problems. Tetsuo and Keita were lying nearby, still out cold, while Sasamaru sat up against a wall hugging his legs while his knees were in his face. Four players with green cursors were walking around the area, as if they were standing guard. The orange players were nowhere in sight.

Damn, my head is killing me... What did I do?! I almost got everyone killed! If I hadn't had us stand and fight, we wouldn't have gotten in this mess.. The other guys would be buying their house, and I'd be somewhere on a lower floor getting furniture with my Akemi...

"Hey, buddy, you alright?" The voice asked again, this time, coming from right next to me. The player was a few centimeters taller than me, had a slightly bulkier build, and was wearing what looked like an ancient set of armor. On his torso was a set of steel shoulder and chest plates over chain mail armor, an armored skirt hung from his waist down to his knees, and leather sandals were on his feet. In one hand was a Scutum tower shield, and in the other was a Spatha long sword.

"Yeah, thankfully... No, none of us were killed, but one of us took a big beating," I responded, unable to take my eyes away from his armor. In all my time in the Beta and front lines, I'd just never seen something like it before.

"I saw, the guy sitting over there in the fetal position? I wouldn't bother him for a while," He said, giving a weary glance to Maru.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up earlier?"

"We tried, but we couldn't. Then the guy in green said we should just let you and the others wake up before we did anything else. That begs the question: Who are you guys?"

"I can ask you the same thing." I suddenly felt the urge to reach for my Elucidator on my back. Who's to say they're not here to finish us off since the other guys didn't? Wait, where's my Elucidator?!

"My sword!" I exclaimed, my eyes scanning the ground around me for the blade.

"What?"

"My sword! Where is it?!" I turned to the one who woke me up.

"What's it look like?"

I gave a short description of the long, black blade, and sure enough, one of the other green players came up to me with it.

"You know, that bastard Grim tried taking a few swings at me with this thing. I guess there was something wrong with it, since he ditched it and used his Bowie Knife."

"Well thanks for returning it." I put the sword back in its scabbard. "Who are you guys anyway?"

"Who are you?" He asked in response.

"Sorry man, I asked first."

"Well, seeing as to how we're the ones who saved you and your guild, I think I should receive an answer first."

Damn, this guy isn't a pushover. Then again, who is in this game?

"We're called the Moonlit Black Cats. We're one of the clearing guilds, maybe you've heard of us before. I'm Kirito, one of the frontmen. The one in purple is Keita, I think he was the last one to go down of all of us. The one against the wall is Sasamaru, or Maru for short, and the one in the blue is Tetsuo," I answered.

"We're Interfector Venatores, it means 'Killer Hunters' in Latin, depending on where you get your translation. I'm Nox, the leader. I started the guild about a week or two ago to hunt down red players and imprison them, or kill them if the situation goes south. So far, we've sent almost 10 to prison. We hadn't had to kill anyone until today. What were you guys doing down here?"

"Wait, you knew those guys?!" I snapped, remembering the words exchanged before the fight.

"Well we didn't know them per se, what do you mean?" He asked, putting his hands up and taking a step back.

"Grim was calling out a player named Nox before he knocked out Tetsuo, saying that you never fought any skilled players. If you and your gang were following them and knew their location, why the hell didn't you jump in before we almost got killed?! Now two of my best friends are unconscious, one of them is traumatized, and nearly a half dozen players were killed! They would've surrendered if they were drastically outnumbered!"

"Hey, listen, kid! If you hadn't engaged them on impulse, none of this would've happened! If I remember correctly,you never said 'thank you' for saving you and the others! Besides, those guys don't surrender! They either run, fight 'til the end, or fight 'til they kill who they're fighting! And they sure as hell weren't doing the first two!" He shot back.

"Hey, there's no need for you two to be arguing. The fact of the matter is that the ex-LC members are dead and none of the green players were lost. Let's just leave it at that and get out of here," one of Nox's friends jogged up and pulled us apart. He was about my height wearing another unconventional armor set: a Corinthian helmet on his head with a red plume of hair on top, a titanium chest plate adorned with scales over his lower abdomen, metal greaves on his shins, and leather sandals. His weaponry consisted of a spear-and-short sword set and a large, circular shield made of leather and steel. The others were dressed in a similar fashion, but with different weapons. What's up with these guys?

*sigh* "Fine, I guess you're right, Kaga," said Nox.

"Yeah, we should just wait for the others to wake up. I just needed to ask though, what's with the five of you? That's a pretty weird armor set on each of you guys," I asked.

"Are you serious? We get that all the time..." Kaga put his hand up to his forehead. "Your turn to explain it, Nox."

"It's no big deal, you know." Nox turned back to me. "I'm supposed to be a Roman Legionnaire and he's supposed to be a Greek Hoplite. We picked out the armor sets out of personal interest at first, but then it kinda turned into a uniform for IV. That'd explain why the others are dressed similarly. They're pretty quiet though, so they'll probably just keep to themselves.."

"Got it. Hey, Keita and Tetsuo are waking up!" I exclaimed.

"Damn... how long was I out?" Tetsuo groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. "Is everyone okay?"

" Everyone's fine, thanks to Nox and his guild," I reluctantly answered. The Legionnaire and Hoplite both had a smug look on their faces when I glanced over at them.

"Oi, buddy, I saw you take a nasty beating from that other guy you shattered, and I just wanted to tell you that it probably isn't a good idea to fight only with the spear," one of the other Hunters said to Sasamaru.

"Leave me alone. I don't want to be bothered right now," He responded coldly, not moving an inch.

"Hey, you didn't let me finish. The spear of yours is a good one-handed spear, so you can have something in your other hand. Here, take this," he went through his inventory and pulled out a teardrop-shaped shield with the point on the bottom and a spike in the front, "That should help you when you're grinding or fighting another player. It works pretty well with your Xiphos, too. Go ahead and keep it." He held it out over Sasamaru.

"W-what?" Maru looked up and grabbed the shield, "I can't take it, it's yours. You earned the drop or bought it from another player. I can't just walk off with it."

"Don't worry about it. It's not the only good shield I've earned or bought. Besides, you being able to pull off what you did, you deserve some kind of prize."

"Are you sure.? It looks pretty high end.."

"It's not that high end, but it's a respectable hunk of data when you're in a pinch," the Hunter continued. Maru reluctantly got up and held the shield in a defense position, but didn't seem to be cheered up.

"Look at you! You're already starting to look like a Roman Auxilliary!"

"Thanks... but I just wanna go home. Thanks, though.. ummm. your name?"

"Hiryu. I already know your name, so no need to ask. I hope the shield works out for you," Hiryu bowed and rejoined his other guild mates off in the distance.

Looking back to Kaga, I picked up where I left off.

"I guess payment should be made where it's due," I began. I materialized five Restoration Crystals from my inventory and a handful of coins worth 1000 col each, then offered them to Kaga. "Thanks for everything. I hope it covers what you guys used to heal us, and then some." I turned back to grab the other Black Cats' weapons and handed them to their owners. "Let's get out of here. I think we're done for today."

"Best of luck to you guys. Hey, can I add you to my friends list? In case you get any leads on PK'ers or need help with anything else," Nox asked.

I looked around at my guild mates, then back at the Legionnaire. "I don't see a reason not to."

We navigated through our menus and added each other, then the other Hunters, and pulled up the dungeon map.

"I guess we'll see you guys later on," Kaga waved as we began taking off.

"Yeah, stay safe. Thanks again," I responded.

"Hey, Maru, are you okay? You still seem pretty shaken up," I asked as we made our way out the exit.

"Okay? Okay?! How do you expect me to be okay after I killed three players and got the crap beaten out of me?! We came here to earn money, not fight a gang of criminals! What the hell were you thinking?! What if one of us had gotten killed?! What if all of us were killed?! We all know you're hoping to marry Sachi in the near future, it's no secret. How in the hell do you think she'll feel when she finds your name crossed out back in the Black Iron Palace?! We came pretty damn close to it! Right, Keita?! Even he had to kill somebody today! We were stuck fighting for our own lives instead of getting the hell outta there because you wanted to play hero, right?! It's not the first time either! Going off and doing your own thing back during the crusade and getting Ducker killed!" Sasamaru ranted. Everyone grew silent at his sudden outburst. After a short moment of silence, Maru pulled out a Teleport Crystal and began walking ahead of the rest of us.

"Sasamaru, wait! I'm sorry!" I began. Was I really trying to play hero? No! I was keeping those players from escaping and hurting anyone else..

"Don't even try it! Apologize when you realize what you did! Just because you're the strongest doesn't mean you can do whatever the hell you want and drag us along with you! Our lives matter to us. I'm going to use it to help clear this game, not catch a few criminals. If we clear the game fast enough, we wouldn't have to worry about red or orange players. Forget Floor 22, I'm going home. Teleport, Mishe." He turned back around and burned the crystal before disappearing in a brilliant blue light.

I pulled out the blue crystal as well, hoping to catch up with him and talk this through, but a hand on my wrist stopped me.

"We'll catch up to him. He's not gonna wanna see you for at least a few hours, so let us handle it. I don't like what you did either, but now's not the time to discuss it. Come on, Tetsuo, he's probably heading to the guild house." Keita said. In the next few seconds, both followed were engulfed in a brilliant light and went out to follow Maru.

Damn it! I didn't do anything wrong... Deep down inside, he knows we did the right thing. It doesn't make him any less traumatized, though. I should go tell Akemi what happened.

"Teleport, Coral."

Floor 22
Hundred Lake Forest
16:30

I quickly rushed over to the fallen figure to see what I could do to help. As I got closer to the figure, I noticed that it was a little girl. She wore a light pink dress that went down to her knees and had blackish hair with a fairly round face. I got on one knee and put my dagger away, then picked up the girl to try to get a response. Was it a quest NPC? I hadn't seen a green or orange cursor above her head, nor a question mark indicating a quest. Exactly who is this girl?

I can't just leave her here... She might get hurt. Yeah, the environment never 'hurts' players in the fact that it doesn't wear at their HP, but it feels awful nonetheless. Maybe I can take her back to the cabin until she wakes up.

"Hello?" I asked, nudging her shoulders and waving in her face. She let out a soft groan, but did nothing else. If I were to guess how old she was, I'd say 7 or 8. What's somebody this age doing playing SAO? I mean, there are a lot of young players, but the youngest I've heard of was a kid who started playing when he was 12, but that was nearly two years ago! No parent would let a their child of 5 or 6 play a game like SAO even if it weren't a death game. Well, at least the people who aren't this little girl's parents.

What if she played the game with her parents and got lost? Yeah, it's highly improbable, but let's just remember that a young girl is stuck in this game to begin with.

Seeing no better option, I picked the girl up in a cradle and began heading back to the cabin. About 15 minutes later, I set her down on a sleeping bag in the living room, and headed to the kitchen to get the girl something to eat. I put together a simple soup with a few basic ingredients and went back to the living room to wait for the little girl to wake up. I sat down next to the bag with my legs crossed and began to imagine what Kazuto and I were going to do with the little girl when she woke up. Maybe her parents are going crazy looking for her. Wait! She's probably from the orphanage on floor 1! I remember hearing something about one that was run by an older player, who would put ads in Argo's paper asking for any donations to keep the place running. Maybe I can tell Kazuto about it when he comes home. In the mean time, I'd better watch after the little girl.

The longer I sat there, the more I found myself noticing her facial features. One thing that shocked me at first was how much she looked like me. Not that she looked like a 16-year-old girl, but instead a significantly younger version of me. Oh calm down, Sachi. Sometimes, people who are completely unrelated to each other have strikingly similar looks.

"Hello? Akemi? I'm back," A voice called from the front door.

"Huh? Kazuto!" I answered, rushing up to him and wrapping my arms around him, "How'd everything go? What took you so long? You've been gone with the other guys for hours!" I moved my head from his shoulder and kissed him, trying to welcome him back home. He pulled away a moment later and began walking to the kitchen, removing his battle gear as he walked. He didn't say a word.

"Hey, I'm talking to you.." My heart sunk as I watched him sit against the wall and bury his face in his hands. Why is he ignoring me? Maybe something's wrong. Wait, where are the others..?

"Kazuto..? What's wrong.? Where are the others?" I walked over and sat next to him. They're okay, right.?

He looked over at me and back to the ground. "They're fine. At least now they are. They're at the guild house right now."

"Why? What happened?"

He took a moment to respond. During the silence, all that could be heard was his odd breathing pattern, then he began.

"Because I almost got them killed! We were hunting when we stumbled across a PK guild and I made us stay and fight them, and almost got us all killed in the process." A few tears made their way down his face as he got up and headed back to the living room. Why does he keep walking away?

"Kazuto! Why would you do something like that?! Don't you realize that-" I stopped when I got to the living room and saw him sitting on futon we had brought from the other house. He was looking at the ground again with his hands on the back of his head, both clenched into fists. His entire upper body was shaking, and a small pool of tears formed on the floor by his feet. Now's not the time to get mad... I need to comfort him...

"I.. get it, Akemi. Y-you don't need to tell me anything else," he said in between sniffles. Gosh... He's really beating himself up over this. He looks worse than the time I found him back on floor 1 so long ago..

I walked over and took a seat next to him for the second time, then put my arm around him and my head on his shoulder.

"Come on, tell me what happened. Everything you remember."

Author's Note: Hey, guys! The lyrics up top are to a song called "No Matter What" by Papa Roach. For the sake of my curiosity, does anyone check out the songs I take the lyrics from? I like to think that they act as a teaser to the chapter, but I'm just wondering if anyone ever looks them up.

It's been pretty fun to write this chapter overall. My original plan did help me greatly, but as I was typing, the story just kinda evolved into what you just read. There were a few references I included throughout the story that I thought were pretty vague, but if you're familiar with Assassin's Creed III, Rocky IV, or CreepyPasta, I'm sure you'll get them. If not, the Dirk is from AC3, Drago's Fist refers to Ivan Drago from Rocky 4, and Jeff the Killer and the Laughing Jack are from Creepypasta.

I hate to break it to you guys, but it's gonna be at least another chapter before Kirito and Sachi get to really meet Yui. Forgive me.

I'm just going to apologize for the long wait for the next update, I've been getting really bad with consistency. I'm sorry that I'll take a long time!

If there's anything you liked, disliked, or think should go in the next chapter, I encourage you to leave a review or send a PM. I'm always up for feedback, positive or negative. Don't forget to click "Follow" and "Favorite"! Until next time, obscureuser out!