Her Mission To Save Them All || Chapter 30

POV: Kayoko

"No," Asuna's voice is full of fury, of denial. She stalks up to me, not minding the crowd's of people littered around the brightly lit teleportation point and pushes her face close, growling, "No way."

I push her off, sending her staggering into Kirito, "And why not, commander?"

"Because I say so."

I feel the anger rush to my cheeks, feel my fists clench against the sensation. "Let me remind you. I'm not one of your knights. You do not order me around! We will test the sword out on me, or I'll do it myself!"

Kyo blanches, throat bobbing with uncertainty, "Kira, think about this. We don't know whether your...gift..."

"I didn't want this," I find myself shouting, my arms flailing at my friend, my love. What would I think if I saw myself now? Disgust runs like slick oil through my veins, only serving to further ignite my rage.

"None of this was ever a gift! It was a curse!"

"Even still, we don't know whether it'll work again. It could just have been a one-off thing." Kirito crosses his arms, lip curling slightly. It's not at me he's aiming it at, but at the clusters of eyes now focusing on the newest drama.

Asuna doesn't mind the crowd. I suppose she's used to the idea of them, the way their eyes focus on you, ripping apart any wrong action or word, for how else could she have survived as vice commander of the biggest guilds in the game?

She has that confidence around her, the air that demands natural authority. Again, her hands grace her sword, as if the rapier's existence is what gave her the power. She stares at me, eyes like molten flame.

"You are Kayoko Akahoshi, niece to the God of this game. Think about what you represent, what you could represent if you tried if you dared,"

She pulls in closer again, and this time, I don't push her back. I let her whisper the possibilities in my ear, let them become my sword, my armour, my shield. Her words hold strength and conviction; everything I've wished for.

"We are but pawns in a much larger game. But you are different. You are a Queen, and you can make whatever moves you desire. Make them count."

"Then this is the move I choose to make. If you say I'm Queen of this world, you won't stand in my way. And if you do, you'll regret the day you gave me that crown."

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Even a few hours later, those words burn into me, matching each trudge I make across the sand, my feet dissolving on the grains, getting pushed further back the more I try to move forward. The sun beats down, a whip cracking each time its rays grow stronger.

Hot wind batters my face, stroking the beads of sweat dripping down my forehead, doing little to cool me down. All that results in the wind is the grit stuck to my teeth, my hair, my skin. I pull my veil tighter around my mouth and glare up at the sun continuing to crack its whips of heat.

I hate this level.

And I'm sure most players did. So much so that the floor below it had been so crowded with people, that Kyo and I had to move down a floor after that to avoid them. And with each ing day that the front lines did not move forward, they would drag the sand back with them, leaving piles, upon piles of the stuff.

I climb a mound of sand and use the additional height to look into the horizon. Sand, to my left, to my right, front and behind. No sign of the safe area.

"If I find out we're lost then I'll spear the sword through you myself," Kyo has to dig his feet in my footfalls to stand by my side, hands on his hips while he scans the area. His eyes flick to me empty-handed.

"That would lead to super compelling results, now, wouldn't it?" I bite back my temper, using the mound to quickly gather my momentum and slide down the hill, sending sand flying.

Asuna waves her hand in the air as if it's it enough to bat the cloud away, "what exactly are we looking for anyway?"

"It's like an oasis," I continue walking without waiting, "it's isolated, so I doubt we'll find anyone there to witness our little test."

"That's one way to put it," Kirito sidles up beside me, still wearing his insufferable black clothes, even with the heat. Even I changed into an airy white tunic and pants before daring to brave the sand.

It's strange the way you feel the heat in the game. It's your brain telling you to feel something that you know in real life, isn't really there. In reality, I'm on a bed, with hospital wires snaking into my skin, monitor monitoring every change in my heartbeat.

Instead, what I feel is the head baking my body, and the sweat sliding down my skin, and my lungs as they struggle to exhale with every step.

Then, it seemingly appears on the horizon, shimmering from the heat, blue pool like a big mirror as it reflects the clouds above.

"Please, please tell me that's not a mirage,"

Asuna shrugs, "we've got to walk in that direction anyway, so, let's go."

We don't speed up our pace, but it doesn't slow down either. We keep a steady pace, dipping out and in between dunes. As we near, I can confirm that indeed, there is no one around but us, and the squares of the mud buildings that make up most of this level at our backs.

I somehow find it within myself to smile, "Perfect. So, who wants to stab me?"

"We've got to go straight to that topic," Kyo mumbles, kneeling down beside the pool of water, spreading it over his body bit by bit in cupped hands. Rather than watch the water trickling down his back, I turn to Asuna.

"What about you?"

"I'll if I have to." She crouches down in the shade of a tree, legs spread out before her, hands making nervous circles in the sand. "But, if I have to, I won't object."

Her hands pick up the sand without thought, letting the streams of grains fall through her fingers, before clenching her fists in determination.

"Unless Kirito wants to volunteer?"

"Nah, I'm good, thanks."

"Then, what will be the duel type?" I scroll down through the menu, a thought crossing my mind as I look up, finger hovering over the button. "unless you want to get straight to the stabbing?"

"We duel in total loss mode," Asuna says, eyes like brownstone. Unbreakable. Unwielding.

I purse my lips but press the button anyway. If I use too much, try to hurt too much, then it would not be my life in danger. It would be hers, and from the smile her lips twist into as the timer starts it's ticking, she knows it.

It takes more effort than it should to draw my sword from my side. If this game did indeed have blood, it would be invisible among the red patterns engraved on the blade. Opposite me, Asuna equips Guilty Thorn, standing with her knees bent. Ready.

I don't pay attention to the two boys now leaning against a tree, arms crossed. I know they're ready to jump in if it does indeed go too far. I see out of the corner of my eye that Kyo pockets a blue healing crystal. Just in case.

I focus my eyes back on Asuna again, as the timer beeps as it hits zero. I'm straight on the defensive as Asuna flies forward, using the lightning she's named after to strike a quick blow aimed at my chest. I block with one hand, a mistake; I'm flown back at the force, sending the sand parting at my heels.

Asuna doesn't relent, she comes back at me, again and again. She never allows me to attack. Every time I raise my sword to charge a skill, hers is faster, forcing me back a step each time our swords collide.

I narrow my eyes, and in the time it takes her to charge her next skill, I make my move, swinging my sword back without its trademark glow.

The way the system works is to let the sowed skill move your body, not the other way around. But that doesn't mean the swords don't cause damage without the skill. I aim for her legs, wanting to disable that darn speed. But her arms move just as fast to block the blow, jumping back from the reach of steel.

We smile, panting, swords still raised high. "As expected of 'the flash'."

"As expected of 'the Queen'."

Something shocks me at the new name. Not killer, or lier, or traitor, but Queen, kin, friend.

"You guys look like you're having way too much fun when you're supposed to be stabbing each other," Kyo shouts from the sidelines, smile as wide as our own.

As if ing her purpose, Asuna begins her barrage again. I block one, deflect the other, and slide my blade down the other one, just gracing her moon-white skin. The red crisscrossed slash that appears there is ugly in contrast.

I feel ashamed of that blow, that I could ever strike someone in that way, knowing full well that I could kill them. It roils in my gut, as I embrace each strike with less care than before. I don't even think about attacking, letting Asuna scratch me without resistance.

But she doesn't make the move either, because even if she knows that I'm going to live, it does not make it any less hard to do. I find it reassuring that she hesitates at taking life. The signs of a good vice commander.

So, on her next strike, aimed at my shoulder, I pivot and allow the blade to strike deep and true into my chest.

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POV: Kyo

I know it is coming. I tried to say it to myself with every step over the desert. Kayoko will die, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Over and over, until the words had become the truth itself. The truth did not make it any less painful to watch my friend, the one I loved so deeply that I couldn't live without her. Until I learned to.

Kayoko isn't a crutch for me to lean on anymore. I have the fight to dedicate myself to, the clanging of metal chasing the dark thoughts from my head. I can live without her.

But it does not make it any less painful.

Her body collapses onto the ground, hair pooling out in a halo that looked like blood. Her chest heaves, and she coughs, back arching. Body still fighting to the very end.

As her level crawls slowly down, I force myself to remain unmoving, knowing my face is as pale as Asuna's as she stands over Kayoko. She looks like she wants to be sick, but this cruel world will not allow it. Her face scrunches, but tears do not fall.

Kirito is at her side, hand ing her shaking shoulders. And she doesn't remove the comforting touch, leans into it even.

I can't stay still any longer. I pull the sword out of her chest, which quickens the decent of her health. She smiles through want looks like pain, so real as it's etched on her face.

I wonder if she's scared of dying again, so I take her hand in a show of comfort. Friend to friend, lover to lover. She looks upwards, and her eyes suddenly widen in shock, as if she spots something in the distance. Her hand lifts to point at it, but as I follow her hand, I see nothing but the blue sky and the crystals that float in the air a second later.

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