Part three to chapter 11.
Leave Power Stones if you enjoyed.
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Losing a low quality weapon was a much better option than dying on the end of his blade. He wanted to cheer her up regardless. "On the bright side, you learned that criminal players have an orange cursor above their heads. They sometimes have red ones, too. If you see a player with one, you should avoid them. Not that I have any right to talk." Kirito chuckled.
The girl weakly grumbled to herself, finally moving over to stand next to him. It seems she was beginning to have more trust towards him. She glanced over at the black haired boy. "So, are ya gonna take me back to town?"
Kirito began walking, gesturing her to follow. "Yeah, guess I have to. But it'll be tricky. I'm an orange player, so I can't access towns without being attacked by the npc guards. It wouldn't look good for either of us if another player saw me. They'll assume the worse."
She hurried after him, frowning as she recalled what he said earlier. "That really sucks. You're stuck as a bad guy forever now."
"...No i'm not. What made you think that?"
"Huh?" She looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Wait, ya mean ya won't be?"
"...No?"
"But you're a bad guy now, aren't ya?" She pointed up at his cursor, her hand movement plenty exaggerated.
A small smile grew on Kirito's face. Right, even though they've made it to floor six, there are still beginner players. This girl was clearly one of them.
Having gone through the process of educating a girl on how to game, Kirito was prepared to do it again. He considered himself an expert in the field by now. The key was using simpler terms and having great patience. "For your first offense, you're only orange for a day. It'll go back to green in twenty-four hours."
"But how? Didn't ya kill someone? Aren't ya supposed to be orange for longer?"
"...You know this is a video game, right? Crimes are all the same here..."
She stared at him with her mouth ajar. Soon, a blush formed on her face. "U-u-uh! I know that! I was just sayin' is all..."
He couldn't help but laugh, adding the the girl's chagrin. Her sense of justice led her to believe criminal action in this world would have similar repercussions from the real one. It was kind of cute. "Well, since you know that," He mocked subtly. "I bet you also know that if you commit three crimes in succession, you turn red."
"Red, huh..."
"Once you turn into a red player, you can never turn back to being green. You'll be branded a criminal forever."
"That sounds tough."
"It wouldn't have been before. Remember, this was supposed to be just a normal game. Lots of different people would have loved to be bad and hunt down other players. Now though..." He trailed off.
"...Now you're a real murderer." She finished for him. A sickened look crossed the girl's face. She never wanted to cross a player like that.
"Not every red player may be a murderer. Remember, all you need to do is three crimes within a short period of time. A red player could be someone who decided to steal from an npc shop a bunch of times and got caught, though I guess no one would be dumb enough to do that..." His words didn't help ease her mind. He really wasn't good at stuff like this. "Look on the bright side. Most people aren't murderers, so it's really unlikely you'll run into anyone like that."
She looked over at him with a grimance. "But I did run into ya..."
"Oh, um..."
Damn.
She had a point.
He was technically a criminal and she had seen him kill someone, even if what he said hadn't entirely been a lie. He didn't get a chance to rectify his words before she gave him a forced smile. "Sorry... that was mean of me, huh?"
Comparing Kirito, who had murdered in good faith, to someone who would actively want to turn red inside a death game, was a bit harsh. Calling him a criminal and a murderer for killing Kayaba was a massive stretch. Although, there would always be a few people who would still see it that way, regardless.
"Don't worry about it. Not like I actually killed him, anyway."
She froze. Kirito looked back at her and gestured once more. Shaking her head, she caught back up with him completely perplexed. "Whaddya mean ya didn't? I watched ya and you're all orange and stuff."
"Remember what I said before? I figured out that guy was Akihiko Kayaba himself, the creator. Do you really believe he wouldn't have a failsafe in case he actually did die?"
Her head lowered, contemplating what he said. When it turned back up, her anxiousness was clear as day. "S-So you're sayin' he didn't kick the bucket?"
"No, probably not."
"Then what about you?!" She looked at him with concern. "Ain't he gonna come back to get ya?!"
"Maybe." Kirito shrugged.
Her mouth fell open at his lackadaisical response. Why wasn't he taking this seriously? Doesn't he know he could die? She struggled to get out the words, too many trying to force their way out at the same time and getting stuck.
Kirito couldn't help smiling as he watched her sputter about. It was strange having someone he hardly knew so concerned for him, but nice in its own way. "If he was gonna kill me, I'm sure he already would have." The boy assuaged her worries.
"W-Whaddya mean?"
"Its been a good minute since our fight. I'm sure he's woken up next to a computer or console that'll let him check on, or even tamper with the game. He should have the means to kill me, yet he hasn't. Since he hasn't yet, I doubt he will."
"But why not? Ya killed 'em, wouldn't he want revenge?" She asked, receiving another shrug.
He wasn't Kayaba, so he couldn't answer that question. The girl frowned, balling her hands up as her eyebrows furrowed.
She just didn't get it.
"Why would he trap us all here and not kill ya for gettin' in his way?" She couldn't wrap her head around it. If that boy from before truly was the evil man who had locked them all inside a video game, it stood within reason to believe he'd kill anyone who opposed him.
"...Gamer etiquette?" Kirito guessed, taking a shot in the dark. That only made her look at him strangely.
There probably was a good reason why Kayaba didn't, but he could only tell her his own assumptions. It may not be correct, or be a good enough answer for her, but he could at least try.
Taking it more seriously, Kirito looked at her softly. "I don't think he wants to be God. If he did, he would appear as that giant red avatar back from the first day. He'd interfere with us more, a lot more than making us go through his trial of clearing all one hundred floors. He wants to play the game, just like us. Even if he cheats, he wouldn't cheat so badly that he starts killing players left and right..."
"...But then why? If he wants to play too, why'd he trap us inside here and make us fight for our lives?" Her face scrunched up as if she were going to cry. However, she was strong enough to keep any would be tears in check. "Why do we have to be the only ones riskin' our lives?"
"...I don't know." Kirito answered honestly. Her frustration at the unfairness was warranted. Everyone trapped here was risking their lives, yet the one who put them in that position refused to face the same music.
Kirito watched the influx of emotions wash over her. Both her lips and eyes quivered as she fought herself to remain stable. That disgusting feeling was threatening an appearance. The same damn feeling he would get when he thought about what disasters could happen to Sinon and Asuna.
No. He couldn't help everyone. There were only so many people he could reach and he chose them. He couldn't, wouldn't make exceptions...
"...I never thought I'd be afraid to die." The girl suddenly confessed, sending a piercing chill throughout his body. Kirito slowly felt his eyes widen as he listened. "...I always thought that when the time came, I'd be ready." She turned away from him so that he couldn't see her face. "I really don't wanna die..."
The girl began to tremble. It was subtle, but Kirito could see it. There must've been a lot of people like her, who were scared to die here. They convince themselves they wouldn't and pretend to be strong. They laugh, cry, and try to live as best they can. They celebrate holidays just as they would in the real world, one of the very few things they had left.
He never really thought about it like that before...
A weak laugh escaped the girl. "What am I sayin' to a stranger? Sorry 'bout that..." She looked at Kirito with forced a smile, hoping it appeared braver than she felt.
He sat in silence next to her, not really knowing how to respond. It appeared as if she had cheered up, but he speculated she was just covering up her real feelings. Now was a good time to change the subject.
Two of Kirito's fingers opened up and scrolled through his menu. Suddenly, she was handed a brown bag. "What's this?"
"Col. It should be enough to replace your sword."
The girl seemed confused by his actions, although her hands still instinctively ruffled the sack. "Aren't ya supposed to use the trade menu to give people stuff?"
Kirito looked down at her, impressed by her knowledge. What do ya know, she knew more about video games than Asuna initially did. "Yeah, but you can also do this. Just tap it as you would to inspect an item like how you did that sword I showed you."
She peered up at him with a whimsical smile. "Can't ya just give me the sword?" She asked simply, looking over his right shoulder. He followed her eyes and realized that he never actually unequipped excalibur.
Wearing it must have made her remember that he was now in posession of two swords. Kirito understood her perspective. Instead of giving her money, he could just give her a weapon. With that being the case...
"You're crazy if you think I'd give you that." Kirito chuckled, tapping a finger on his head. "Either I hit you too hard earlier, or you need to work on your jokes."
"I'm not joking." She replied all too quickly, hopping up and down at the thought of owning the blade. "If that Excalibur sword is too much, just gimme that other one."
"Sacrilege!" Kirito shouted at her. What a moronic, simple-minded buffoon of a girl.
How could she even think about asking for his precious Anneal Blade? Despite his need to replace it, the sword was still his baby. Once that time came around, he still wouldn't sell it, much less give it away. It would sit inside his inventory for the remainder of the game because that was where it belonged!
"Hey, c'mon dude! It's just a sword!"
"Just a sword?!" Kirito looked as if someone had just slapped his mother. "You really wanna mock my Anneal Blade?! Did you forget it completely dominated yours?!"
"I know, so gimme it!" The two of them growled at each other. He already had a better sword, so she didn't understand why he refused to part with the other. Kirito wasn't having any of that.
"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't," Kirito said irritably, trying to reach a compromise. "Not now, anyway."
"Why not?" The girl huffed, folding her arms under her very modest chest.
"Because I can't use Excalibur." Before she could try to refute him, Kirito held up his hand. "Don't you remember? This sword belonged to a person who's now dead. If other people see that I have it, they'll link me to his death and assume the worst."
Her expression dropped as his words seemed to hit their mark. "That makes sense..."
Thankfully, Kirito didn't have to explain every little detail like he did last time. She understood that Excalibur was now flagged with death. Unless he was actively seeking trouble, it was unusable around other players. If he gave away his other sword, he'd essentially be weaponless like her.
He stashed the holy sword away and reequipped his Anneal Blade. Adjusting it on his back, Kirito could tell how much lighter it was compared to Excalibur. Still, it was a weight he had grown accustomed to. "Just take the col. It should be more than enough to buy you a good sword."
She frowned, but didn't complain. Tapping on the bag she still held in her hands, the girl's brown eyes shot open. "F-Fifty thousand!? This is fifty thousand col!" She yelled in disbelief. "I can't take this! It's way too much!"
Kirito shrugged his shoulders, placing his hands in his coat pockets. "Don't worry about it. That's the col I'd gotten from Kayaba before our fight broke out. I'm not losing anything."
She would have seen the trident and bag of col on the ground after witnessing the fight. Sure, that bag actually contained one million col and not fifty thousand, but she didn't need to know that.
"A-Are ya sure?" She asked, feeling guilty taking so much money from him; money he risked his life for. He nodded back and began to walk in the direction of «Stachion». Noticing he was leaving her behind, the girl hurriedly threw the col into her inventory and caught back up.
As she caught up to his side, Kirito looked over at her. "We're headed into grounds that'll spawn monsters. You don't have a weapon, so stay back while I do the fighting."
"Right!" She said eagerly, clenching her hands in front of her. "Thank ya very much, Mr... uh..." The girl laughed scratching the back of her head. "What's your name again?"
Of course, he could only delay the inevitable for so long. The problem with interacting with others was the exchange of names, a steep price to pay for a player like himself. He had dropped his defenses a good amount and had begun appreciating her company. But alas, she just had to go and pop the question.
Playing one of the cards he created for moments like these, Kirito deflected her question. "Ladies first."
She beamed up at him, completely oblivious of his inner thoughts. "I'm Yuuki! Yuuki Konno!"