Commission. BluBlazeFire0. Akane

Akane returned to her apartment on floor 12 after a quest outside the city. It had been a few months since SAO, Sword Art Online, had started. She helped fighting on the front lines when her help was required. And since almost all strong players were asked to help fight on the front lines to clear the game as quickly as possible, every time a boss battle came, be it field or floor boss, she and others who weren’t in guilds yet, were asked.

even that ex beta tester who was called a beater, Kirito, was asked to help. But there were many others. And while the biggest three guilds were always up front, some guys even acting arrogant over their so called superior strength, also smaller guilds came to help out. As she walked to her room, her two neighbors greeted her. she only replied with a scowl.

she couldn’t help it. that was simply who she was. she didn’t know those two people, at all! So why would she reply back with a greeting of her own. she opened her apartment, went inside and locked the door behind her. she sighed, took of her coat and sword and sat down in her comfy chair with a sigh. She had come across some people a while ago, had spend some time with them up to today. They had gone with her on this quest she had returned from. She was the only one who had survived!

when she had entered SAO, she had hoped to play a great game, perhaps meet some new friends, get to know a new world. Instead she and 9.999 other players got trapped in this death game. After people had been trapped, many suicides happened, as well as deaths caused by monsters. And lately even PKing happened; player killing, where players killed other players. And even a PK guild had appeared; the laughing coffin, treating death as a joke!

she sighed again, sat up and walked to her fridge. As she opened it she noticed she didn’t have all that much for dinner. She closed the fridge and walked to her balcony, looking out over the city helped clear her mind. as she looked, seeing other players walk through the city, going about their daily basis, as well as NPCs, None Player Characters, run their shops. as she was about to turn around, she noticed a small restaurant in the distance.

she shrugged, put her cloak on and equipped her sword and went out, wanting to see if the food in that restaurant would be any good. She walked through the streets, reaching the restaurant after ten minutes. as she had reached it, she saw its name; the full course. As she walked in, she saw that not NPCs, but players ran this restaurant. Girls in maid outfits, guys on butler suits and the owner, the oldest man she had ever seen, was working in the kitchen.

one of the maids came in her direction, ‘excuse me miss; do you have a reservation?’ Akane was surprised and shook her head, ‘no. I didn’t know I needed one.’ The maid grinned, ‘that was just a joke miss. Mister Suramo says everyone is free to come in, have a seat and eat.’ Akane huffed, ‘that was not funny!’ the maid made a small bow, ‘apologies. Now, pick a table and sit down, we’ll be with you shortly.’ Akane nodded, walked to an empty table and sat down.

other people also came into the restaurant and Akane saw some maids and butlers made the same joke with them as that one maid had made with her. some people could laugh at the joke, others couldn’t. one of those people was Kibaou, leader of the Aincrad Liberation Army. But someone who could laugh at it was Heathcliff, leader of the knights of the blood oath. Akane ordered her food and saw the old man hobble through the visible kitchen, preparing many different kinds of food with great speed. he didn’t let anything get burned.

as she got her food, she could understand why the place was packed with so many people; this food was great. As she ate, she suddenly noticed someone was standing next to her table. As she looked up she saw it was Heathcliff. He smiled and politely bowed his head, ‘excuse me, can I sit here?’ Akane was surprised by this sudden question. Normally she’d say no. but there was something that stopped her from doing that. she shrugged, ‘go ahead.’ She focused on her food again and ate. Heathcliff’s food was brought to him shortly after he sat down.

as Heathcliff ate, he also talked to her. she only gave him short answers and sometimes none at all. She wondered why someone as highly ranked as Heathcliff wanted to eat with her, or even talk to her. Heathcliff was cool, leading the strongest army in SAO. He was a great leader and also had the respect of the other guilds. She, Akane, was just a solo player who didn’t talk all that much to people. Their social ranks were completely opposite.

as they finished eating Heathcliff looked around, before stating, ‘perhaps some action would be a nice change of pace.’ Akane looked up, ‘what do you mean, action?’ Heathcliff shrugged, ‘oh, just a friendly duel, a nice spectacle for people to look at.’ He stood up and walked to the kitchen, asking Suramo if it was okay if a duel was held inside his restaurant. The old chef thought about it for a moment, before agreeing to it.

Heathcliff walked to an open area and explained what the idea was. it would be a short duel. The first person to get a solid hit on the other would win. Other people stood up and accepted the challenge. Kibaou was the first to try and take on Heathcliff and went down in one minute. Akane watched as Heathcliff took on challenger after challenger, not losing once. And she noticed other people enjoyed watching the fight as they ate. It was indeed “a nice change of pace.”

than a new challenger stepped forward. Akane had seen him once when she had bought a sword in his shop. Mathew took on Heathcliff with a broad short sword. As the duel began, it was difficult to keep track of it all. Both were moving so fast. Akane was sitting on the edge of her seat as she watched how Heathcliff was fighting with form and style, while Mathew danced and jumped around. It was a strange and unorthodox method of fighting, but it did seem to work, as Heathcliff couldn’t land a single solid hit on him. but the same was true as well; Mathew couldn’t land a solid hit on Heathcliff either.

after the duel had lasted fifteen minutes, both fighters decided to make the duel a draw. As the duel came to an end, Heathcliff walked back to his seat and sat down, before finishing his drink. As he did he asked, ‘why didn’t you come up to duel? I know you’re one of the front line fighters.’ Akane shrugged, ‘I didn’t feel like fighting. I’ve already fought today and I don’t do it for sport.’ Heathcliff nodded, ‘that’s a good attitude to have. But it won’t hurt to relax from time to time and test your skills against someone else.’ Akane nodded, ‘that’s true I suppose.’

as the two of them got their desserts, they continued to talk. Akane spoke a little more, but still kept her answers short.

{a few months later}

Akane returned to the city on floor 27, dressed in the white with red clothing of the knights of the blood oath. After that first talk with Heathcliff, she had talked to him some more on other occasions. And after reaching floor 15, she had joined the ranks of the knights of the blood oaths. With her level and skill, she was in the top ten of players in the guild. And having joined the higher ranks of the guild, she was also closer to commander Heathcliff.

they had just succeeded in defeating one of the field bosses. The last one before they would go up against the floor boss, which they were planning to do tomorrow. So for now, they would need a repair on their weapons, shields and armors, perhaps some new ones as well. as they made their way through the town, other players greeted them with respect. Some players had settled down in the game, trying to live a normal live, waiting for either the inevitable, or for the front liners to liberate them. Akane greeted these people with a nod. She felt like she was doing the right thing. She was helping others clear the game. Even though they had only just passed a forth of the game and the worst was yet to come, they were making progress.

as they arrived at the blacksmith shop; thunderforge, another group of people arrived at the shop as well. the owner of the shop and his guild; the Yggdrasil guild, also just returned from taking out one of the field bosses. Mathew nodded with a smile, ‘hello my bloody knights that took an oath, here prepping for tomorrow?’ Heathcliff smiled and stepped forward, ‘good to see that you’re back Mathew. and yes, we need our gear repaired for the final boss raid tomorrow. I take it you and your guild will join the other front line fighters.’ Mathew and his guild nodded.

Mathew opened his shop and everyone walked inside and handed Mathew the gear they wanted repaired, or wanted to sell to him, before looking around his shop, to see if anything struck their fancy. As Mathew retreated into his forge, Akane stepped up to Heathcliff, ‘sir, are you sure we should ask an ex beta tester and his guild to help us?’ Heathcliff turned and smiled, ‘I understand your concern. I know the rumors that go around about beta testers and beaters. But Mathew is the best blacksmith in the game and his guild, though small, is quite powerful.’ Akane nodded, ‘understood sir. Having strong players along does help. And if you’re sure, I am too. That is to say; I trust you and your judgment.’ Heathcliff replied with a smile, ‘I’m glad to hear that.’

the next day was the battle against the 27th floor boss. Like with all floor boss levels, some players died. But the death toll was kept to a minimal of five players. And after the battle had been won, those who had died were mourned and grave posts were set up as reminders of those people. During the battle, Akane had teamed up with Heathcliff and had watched his back, even though he barely needed it. but in return, he also guarded her.

time went on and as they did, Akane became more open to other members of the guild. But she found she was most open with Heathcliff. And after certain quests or battles, he asked for her to dine with him, or take a walk so they could talk. She liked to spend time with the commander. And she noticed how happy Heathcliff looked when he spend time with her. she just hoped he felt the same for her as she was starting to feel for him.

as floor 51 was reached and the intense battle of floor 50 was behind them, having cleared half of the game. Akane felt like she needed to say something. She had seen the commander struggle in the last battle. Even though he was one of the strongest players, he couldn’t fight a boss battle on his own. when he protected others, she wanted to be by his side. When he was attacking, she wanted to defend him. she made her decision then and there; she would tell him.

as it was getting late and people retreated into their barracks, Akane waited for all the others to leave, so she could get to talk to Heathcliff on her own. and as the second in command, Asuna, also left, Akane stepped forward. Heathcliff looked at her with a smile, ‘I already thought you wanted to talk to me. what can I do for you Akane?’ she sighed, looked him in the eyes and replied, ‘I want to be by your side sir.’

Heathcliff chuckled, ‘you already are Akane. In every boss battle you’re my right hand.’ Akane shook her head, ‘not like that Heathcliff. Not just in battle. Also outside of the battles! On normal days, on happy and on sad days. I want to be with you, I want to be by your side; forever!’ Akane blushed as she blurted out that last sentence. But she had said what she felt. Heathcliff’s face momentarily bore surprise, than a gentle smile came to his face as he walked toward her, before taking her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him too, but didn’t look him in the eye, not after what she had just said.

Akane didn’t know what to expect next. Was this a hug a friendship, a pity hug or something different, something more? She didn’t know. Akane than felt Heathcliff’s hand on her face, lifting it upwards. As she looked him in the eye, he placed a kiss on her lips. She was first shocked that he did that. but feeling how he returned her feelings, not with words but with action, she wrapped her arms tighter around him and kissed him back.

{floor 75}

a few months had passed and almost a third quarter of the game had been cleared. But this being a quarter level, it was more difficult than other regular levels around it. but Akane, who had been happy to be with Heathcliff, had also figured something else out. There was the fact the commander’s HP bar had never taken a dip into the yellow zone, not even in boss battles. And he was a front line fighter. Another thing was the match Heathcliff had fought against Kirito. Akane had watched it closely and for a moment Kirito had gotten the upper hand and had launched an attack that would have pushed the commander into the yellow zone. Heathcliff’s counter attack was so incredibly fast it just didn’t fit into the game’s systems. With all of that having sunken in, she knew for certain that Heathcliff, the strongest player in the game, was Akihiko Kayaba. But even knowing that, she didn’t dislike Heathcliff. He was still the man she wanted to be with.

and than that faithful day came; the day the biggest boss raid party was assembled. Many guilds showed up, with the knights of the blood oath up front. As everyone entered through the door, it closed and disappeared. Than the enormous boss monster showed itself; the skull reaper. As it launched its first attack, it cut down two elite players, killing both of them with just one attack. everyone teamed up with each other and fought as hard as they could. But even so, it couldn’t be helped that people died during the fight. This was the strongest floor boss they had ever faced and it had five health bars.

as Heathcliff protected someone, the skull reaper swung a second scythe at him. and his health bar had already reached the point before the yellow zone. And with people having their eyes on him, if he was no protected by the system and not lose any more HP, other people might start questioning him. this all shot through her in a single moment and she rushed forward, jumping in the way of the scythe. She blocked it, but then the scythe cut through her sword, followed by her.

Heathcliff caught her, before she closed her eyes with a sad smile and disappearing. Akane smiled, yet she cried. She had managed to protect the man she loved, even though she had given up her own live to do so. It was a sign of true love. And if that was how she got to go, she was happy that she got such an ending. She just wondered; why did her chest feel so heavy? She opened up her eyes. It was hazy at first and she heard noises. But it wasn’t battle she heard, but voices. And she didn’t see a battle either. She saw people standing around her and she was lying on something soft; a bed. Had she somehow survived that attack and had she just been knocked out? Had she just woken up?

as her sight and hearing returned to their fullest capacity, she realized she was in a hospital. The reason her chest was so heavy was because her mother was hugging her while crying. She was back in the real world. As some tests were performed on her to see how she was doing, she also saw other people from within the game. Somehow the game had ended early.

during her recovery tests, where she got some muscle back in her legs and arms and got some food agin, she also heard from other front line fighters what had happened. Kirito had figured out Heathcliff was Kayaba and Kayaba had challenged Kirito to a duel to end the game early, should he win. The fact everyone was out of the game now explained enough. Kirito had won the duel. The fact she had sacrificed herself had been for nothing. Heathcliff had still been found out and he had died.

as she returned home, she barely spoke a word to anyone. She didn’t tell anyone about what happened in the game of SAO. She didn’t want to talk about it. it all reminded her of Heathcliff, the man she had fallen in love with. The man who had returned her love with his own. she was alive now because he was dead. That made her feel very depressed.