So, I've noticed that there's a criminal lack of harem stories for SAO, and even fewer harem stories with lemons (I actually don't think that there are any that I've seen, or at least none that are any good). So, even though I personally find SAO to not actually be a harem series, I decided to cobble this together. I've tried to keep everyone in character as much as possible, but since I am making this a full on harem story, there's going to have to be some suspension of disbelief. The first two chapters won't have any lemons, but once I hit chapter three, they'll be coming on one after another, so I hope you'll bear with me until then. I can't promise super regular updates, but I'm writing this story as much for myself as for anyone else, so it's likely to continue relatively quickly. And finally, please leave reviews or send me PMs to let me know what you think. I want this to be as good as possible, and reader feedback is crucial to accomplishing that goal. So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Edit: Thanks to SaintInfernalNeos for pointing out a substantive error in the story! I've corrected it, and wanted to recognize you for your help!

Summer Heat

Chapter 1: Revelations

"And so we spent that entire night huddled up together inside of the dragon's nest. I think that was the first time that I actually realized how my feelings had changed in such a short time." Lisbeth leaned back into the green couch she was sitting on, a smile of contentment creeping onto her face as she recounted the pleasant memory. Even though the cottage she was currently in technically belonged jointly to Kirito and Asuna, it had unofficially become a sort of "home base" for the entire group, a place where they could all relax and unwind in Alfheim Online. Essentially, it had become a second home for each of them and enjoyed a special place inside each of their hearts.

Currently, the cottage was occupied by five girls: Lisbeth sat at the end of one couch, with Silica seated in the middle between the pink haired blacksmith and the golden-haired sylph, Leafa, who sat at the other end of the couch. Across from them a teal-haired Cat-Sith, Sinon, sat in one of the cottage's chairs. Her bow, which she typically kept strapped to her back, had been placed into item storage and it felt a little strange for the others to see the archer without her normally omnipresent weapon. In a second chair sat the last girl, a relative stranger to the close-knit group. Her short, dirty blonde hair contrasted with Leafa's long, golden strands. Without the hood she typically wore, the distinctive brownish-red whisker marks on her cheeks were clearly visible.

Argo gave a raucous laugh as Lizbeth's story wrapped up. "Nyahaha, I should've expected something like that from Kii-boy," she commented, "He always seems to end up saving one pretty girl or another." She grinned slyly as she glanced around the room, enjoying the embarrassed and self-conscious squirms that her observation elicited from the other four girls. "After all, it's the same for each of you, isn't it? That is the reason that you decided to meet with me to talk about our dear "black swordsman", innit?" Setting back in her chair, she allowed herself a smug smile, knowing that she'd hit the mark perfectly. However, she let the expression fall after a few seconds. "I guess I'm no different though, despite spending my time trying to get him and A-chan to stop being so stubborn and admit their feelings."

Lisbeth frowned at that particular remark. "To be honest, that's pretty much my story too. I tried to tell Kirito how I felt after we finished getting the metal from the dragon nest. I even got him to promise to make me his exclusive blacksmith! But then Asuna came rushing in, so happy to see that I was okay. One look at the gleam in her eyes when she saw Kirito, and I knew that she'd fallen for him first." The blacksmith gave a sigh, "She and Kirito weren't a thing yet, but I could tell how much he meant to her. She's my best friend and I couldn't hurt her by trying to make a move on Kirito myself."

That comment earned her a slight jab in her side from Silica's elbow. The beast tamer had an annoyed, slightly pouty expression on her face. "I thought that I was your best friend," she said in a near deadpan.

Leafa chuckled nervously as Lisbeth quickly attempted to placate Silica. "Of course Silica, but we didn't even know each other back then, and now since I've gotten so close with all of you I can't really pick any one of you as my absolute best friend! It'd be too difficult!" That seemed to at least somewhat satisfy the smaller girl, though she still seemed somewhat miffed at being apparently overlooked again. "Anyways, isn't it your turn to share now Silica?" Lisbeth continued, eager to move on from the little spat, "After all, I volunteered to go first, so it's only fair that you're next."

Silica flushed red, clearly embarrassed at the prospect of sharing some of the more private details of her first encounter with Kirito. She'd previously given the abbreviated version of her tale when she, Rika, Asuna, and Suguha had spent an afternoon at their school's pool teaching the black-haired kendo girl how to swim, but she'd deliberately omitted certain moments. Now, since they'd agreed to share their stories without keeping any secrets among themselves, that information would come to light.

Fidgeting with her skirt, she worked up the courage to start her story. "Alright," she began, "Some of you have already heard parts of this, but since Sinon and Argo haven't heard it yet, I'll start from the beginning. It was back on the thirty-fifth floor of Aincrad. I'd been part of a party to go questing on that floor, but I got into an argument with a girl named Rosalia. She didn't want to give me any healing crystals after we'd finished fighting the monsters in the area, since Pina can provide limited healing." She stroked the head of the small blue feathery dragon that lay slumbering on her lap. "So, I decided to leave. I was confident I could make it back to the town on my own, but… I got a little bit overconfident. I ended up getting lost and ran into four monsters at once. Pina…Pina sacrificed herself to save me, but even then I thought I was going to die."

She took another breath. "Then Kirito showed up and rescued me by destroying the monsters. He told me that there was a way we could revive Pina, but also that I'd never make it at my level. So, he gave me some items and offered to accompany me, telling me that he wanted to help me because I reminded him of you Leafa."

"Heheheh." Lisbeth chuckled at that comment, though a quick glare from Silica kept her from repeating a previous comment regarding the fact that Keiko and Suguha didn't look anything alike.

"Anyways, I treated him to cheesecake at the inn where I was staying, and we ended up sharing a glass of wine as well. I could tell that he was hurting deep inside, and he started deprecating himself even though he'd done so much to help me out. I couldn't help but try to help cheer him up. I grabbed his hand and he smiled at me, saying that he should be the one cheering me up. I think that was when I fell for him, but my heart ached because I didn't think he would ever reciprocate."

That earned some sympathetic nods from the other girls. Each of them had experienced the same feeling at one point or another regarding their swordsman friend. "That night, I was feeling lonely since Pina was gone, so I decided to go over to his room."

Leafa's eyes widened at that information, and Sinon's ears gave a slight twitch, indicating her surprise though her expression maintained neutral. Argo just continued listening attentively, while for her part Lisbeth's face lit up with a rather lewd smile. That just caused Silica to blush even more deeply. "Nothing happened!" she insisted, "We just talked and planned for our quest the next day and…I might have fallen asleep on his bed." She didn't even know if it was possible for her face to become any redder, but if it was, then she was sure that it was now the reddest it could possibly get. Fortunately, the other four were respectful enough not to interrupt and comment on that particular tidbit of information.

"The next day we went to the forty-seventh floor, which turned out to be the go-to spot for couples to go on dates. I have to admit that I wished that Kirito and I were there on a date like the others, but we didn't have time for something like that even if he had returned my feelings. The monsters on that floor were all these creepy plants. I'm pretty sure that Kirito ended up seeing my…my panties at some point, even though he tried not to look. The plants loved to grab at you with their vines and dangle you helplessly in the air. They're gross, and it was so embarrassing!"

"Ah! So that's why you hate those plant type monsters so much!" exclaimed Leafa, "I mean, I guess I've seen them grab at you before, but since you can fly it's never been that bad."

"Oh," said Silica, "I almost forgot that he told me more about you while we were walking, Leafa." A slight bit of sadness crept into her eyes. "He felt really guilty for making you dedicate yourself to kendo. He felt like he'd saddled you with that responsibility just because he didn't want to do it anymore."

"He never really told me about that," Leafa murmured softly, "Stupid Kazuto. He shouldn't have felt guilty. I love kendo and enjoyed every minute of it."

"That's what I told him," said Silica, "but you know how he is. He always places other peoples' burdens onto his own shoulders."

"I've noticed that as well," interjected Sinon, speaking for the first time in a while, "He can't seem to forgive himself for any previous mistakes, particularly if he thinks that he's hurt others. In a way, I can understand that feeling. I'm the same way."

Silica nodded in agreement before continuing, "After that, we found the pneuma flower, the item that could revive Pina, and started making our way back to town. It turned out that Rosalia was part of a criminal guild that had made a habit of attacking players and taking their items, even if they had to kill them. Kirito had volunteered to hunt them down and send them to jail, and knew that they'd come after the flower. When they attacked, he single-handedly took them all on and teleported them to jail. He felt so guilty for using me as bait and tried to leave as quickly as possible once we'd brought Pina back to life. But, I told him that I didn't mind because he was a good person…and then we promised that we'd meet up in the real world once we'd beaten the game." She let out a breath, having finished her recounting. "And that's it, I guess."

"Ya know, Kii-boy spoke rather affectionately of you," Argo commented, "He said that it was nice to get to spend time away from the front lines for a while with someone who wasn't a clearer. Plus, you always seemed to know where the best food was on some of the lower floors." Ignoring the fact that Silica's face had begun twisting into a combined expression of happiness and embarrassment, Argo turned to face Leafa. "I think that it's your turn now Ms. Leafa," she said matter-of-factly, "and to be honest, your story is the one I'm most looking forward to hearing."

Now that it was her turn in the spotlight, Leafa paled more than a bit. This was an extremely uncomfortable topic for her, and not even just in the same way that it was embarrassing for the other girls to talk about. She and Kirito were cousins, and even if they weren't direct blood relatives they'd still been raised like brother and sister. When her feelings had first developed, she'd tried to suppress them, and there was still a lingering self-hatred inside her for allowing herself to hold on to those feelings. But, she had to be honest with herself and her friends: despite knowing how wrong it was, she was still in love with Kirito. She was in love with her cousin.

She figured that it would be best to get it over with quickly, like peeling a Band-Aid off. "Silica touched on this a little bit, but when we were younger, Kazuto and I practiced kendo with our grandfather. He was very strict, and one day Kazuto decided that he'd had enough, so he quit. Our grandfather started beating him until I jumped in and said that I'd work hard enough for the both of us, as long as he let Kazuto go. After that, Kazuto started growing more and more distant; he'd avoid me and our parents and mess around in his room with his computers instead."

"Then he ended up trapped in SAO. I was so worried that I'd visit the hospital one day and hear that he'd died. Eventually, after some research, I found out that we actually weren't siblings. That shouldn't have mattered, but I started to understand why he'd been avoiding me so much. And, I started to think about how I'd view him if we hadn't been raised together. I was so stupid," she remarked bitterly.

"That's not true," Silica interjected, leaning her head against Suguha, "I mean, I felt the same way."

"We all did," Lisbeth said, provoking a nod of agreement from Sinon, "I guess sometimes you can't pick who you fall in love with. That doesn't suddenly change just because you guys are family."

"I guess you're right," Leafa remarked resignedly, letting out the breath she'd unconsciously been holding. Even after everything that she'd been through with the other girls, she'd still expected them to see her as a horrible person, a freak, for harboring feelings towards Kazuto, her cousin and adopted brother. She should have known better though. Lisbeth, Silica, Sinon, Asuna, they were all amazing friends, and it was disrespectful for her to think that they'd abandon her over something like this. And while she didn't know Argo like she did the others, clearly the self-proclaimed "Rat" already knew or suspected most of what she was discussing anyways. Plus, if she was good enough for her brother to trust, then she was good enough for her as well.

"After Kazuto came back from SAO, he started acting kinda weird. We hadn't really associated with each other much since we were kids, but now he seemed like he wanted to really reach out to me and make up for lost time. I was so happy, but at the same time it just caused my feelings to worsen. Plus, he regularly went to the hospital to visit Asuna, so I knew that another girl had already won his heart. I didn't hold it against either of them, but it just… made me feel so empty inside knowing that they shared something so special that I could never know."

"Then one day when I was playing ALO, I was facing off against a trio of salamanders who'd decided it would be fun do some sylph hunting. I was planning on facing them alone, and I knew I could take at least two of them with me, but then this random spriggan fell out of the sky and beat two of them in only a few seconds, leaving the last to fly off. He called himself Kirito, and even though he was obviously really strong, he didn't have any idea about how ALO worked. All he wanted was to get to the world tree as quickly as possible and he said he was looking for someone. His eyes were so empty that I couldn't help but feel compelled to help him out."

She chose to omit the fact that she'd secretly been wanting to leave sylph territory for quite a while. Racial competition in ALO had largely disappeared after the game's rebirth, so it wasn't particularly relevant to the story. "As we made our way to the World Tree, Kirito really started growing on me, and maybe part of it was me trying to replace my feelings for Kazuto. Kirito went out of his way to prevent the salamanders from attacking the sylph and cait-sith leaders, even though he was so clearly desperate to reach the World Tree as soon as he could. It was so much fun swapping banter with him, exploring the world, and fighting side by side. But then, when we actually got to the World Tree, he just threw himself at it and the guardians inside, even though he couldn't beat them. Then I found out that he was my brother."

Leafa clasped her fingers together, the memory causing noticeable discomfort. "When I found out, I was just…broken. It felt like life itself was mocking me, with me trying to bury my feelings for Kazuto and replace them with love for Kirito, only to find out that they were one and the same. I broke down and yelled at Kazuto, telling him all of the feelings that I'd sworn to keep locked inside me forever."

A bittersweet smile adorned her face. "But he didn't hate me, or yell at me, or tell me I was wrong. He even threw a fight that we agreed to and apologized to me for everything, as if he had done something wrong." Leafa brushed away a tear that had inadvertently began sliding down her cheek. "After he and Asuna reunited and ALO opened back up again, I didn't want to join everyone. I felt out of place, like I didn't belong. But he danced with me in the moonlight, and invited me to help him clear New Aincrad. Without that, I'd never have really gotten to know all of you, and that was the moment that I realized that I couldn't throw away my feelings. Even if I can never act on my feelings, I still love Kazuto with all my heart."

Silica gave an audible "aww" at the simple cuteness of Leafa's account, while Lisbeth sat laughing to herself, struggling to not make some rather… crass comments. Sinon just nodded sagely in understanding and Argo seemed to be considering the story. It wasn't long however, before eyes turned towards the archer, causing Sinon to frown slightly and shake her head.

"I guess that makes it my turn, huh. Since you're all sharing I suppose I have to do the same. And it might feel nice to get it off my chest too." Sinon sat up a little straighter in her chair, trying to look as composed as possible as she began her story. "You've all seen Kirito's GGO avatar, right? Well, that was how I first met him. I bumped into him on one of the streets in Glocken, Gun Gale's main city. I sort of…figured he was a girl because of his avatar's appearance, and it certainly didn't help that he declined to correct my initial assumption."

She scowled slightly as she recounted the memory. "Apparently he figured that I'd be more helpful if I thought he was a girl, and he was right. He said that he wanted to participate in the BoB tournament, so I showed him around the city, helped him pick out his gear, and gave him advice on money in the game." An almost imperceptible smirk etched its way onto her lips. "At first he was practically dead broke, with only the little bit of starting funds that the game gives you. Then, when he decided to use all of it on one of the game's rigged challenges, I thought that he was completely nuts. But his reaction speed…it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I'd watched a ton of players who thought that they were hot shit try to win the challenge and collect the prize money only to fail spectacularly. But Kirito didn't even seem to have to try all that hard to do it. At that point, I knew that Kirito wasn't just some ordinary player."

"So after that, he decided to blow most of his money on that fancy photon sword, which I thought was a little silly, even though he seemed really comfortable with it. But, we'd lost track of time shopping and were about to miss the registration deadline for BoB. Kirito just rented one of the motorcycles and we booked it over the central plaza; I didn't think I'd ever be riding one of those things, but it was really fun to rush through the city like that."

Silica and Lisbeth gave some jealous looks towards Sinon as she talked. They still hadn't had a chance to ride with Kirito on his bike, unlike Asuna, Suguha, and Sinon. If the archer took notice of their envy, however, she didn't comment on it. "After we got registered, I dragged him to the changing room, since I still didn't know that he was a guy." She gritted her teeth, hot anger filling her as she recalled how humiliated and embarrassed she'd felt. "He had the nerve to wait until I'd already stripped down to my underwear before telling me his real gender! So, of course I gave him a well-deserved slap before tossing him out of the room."

That earned another apologetic smile from Leafa, as well as some subdued snickering from Lisbeth. The blacksmith found it humorous to imagine the normally cool and composed archer getting so flustered in a situation like that. A quick steely glance from Sinon shushed Lisbeth, and she continued her account. "I didn't want anything to do with him after that, but he kept pestering me until I finally told him about how the tournament worked. I told him that he'd better make it to the finals so that I could get some payback, but when I saw him again after the first round, he seemed really shaken up. I thought it was nerves, but he just seemed so…haunted." A slightly distant look filled Sinon's eyes. "It was the same look that I'd seen so many times when I looked at myself in the mirror. The eyes of a person plagued by guilt. I hated and pitied him at the same time, because he reminded me so much of myself. Then, he tried to throw the match against me in the finals. It was insulting, and I thought that he didn't even think I deserved a fair fight."

"But, he seemed to realize how selfish that attitude of his was, and we ended up having a duel to determine the winner. When he cut my bullet in half from such a close range, I thought that was the kind of strength that I needed. But that wasn't where his strength comes from. He managed to accept his demons and continue on despite the guilt of the lives he'd taken. You guys watched everything that happened during the BoB, but when Kirito and I were in that cave together, I just didn't care anymore. I wanted to die, because I didn't think that anything could take my guilt away. I didn't think anyone could understand what I was dealing with. But, for the first time, someone finally seemed to actually care about me and what I was struggling with. Kirito didn't treat me like a pariah, like most of the people who've learned what I did. And he didn't treat me like I was some delicate thing either. He actually wanted to get to know me and cared about me as a person, no matter how much I yelled at him. That kind of guy is one-in-a-million, and I knew that I wanted to meet him in real life after the tournament."

Sinon gave a slight sigh. "After that, Kirito came over to my apartment and rescued me as I was being attacked. I'd prefer not to talk about that, if it's all right." The other girls nodded; they'd heard enough about the incident with Kyouji Shinkawa to know that it wasn't a topic to reopen. "Anyways, you all know what happened after that. I haven't been able to let go of my feelings for Kirito and so I've had to settle for messing with him as much as possible, even though it hurts to know that I never had a chance with him."

The room was quiet for a moment after Sinon finished. All five of the girls felt the same way, and even though this session had helped a little bit by getting all of their feelings out into the open, that still didn't change the fact that each of them felt empty knowing that Kirito would never return their feelings. Unsurprisingly, it was Lisbeth who broke the silence. "Say, isn't it your turn to talk now Argo? After all, you're the one who orchestrated this and made us all spill our guts. So come on, let's hear it!"

"Nyahaha!" Argo laughed, "If you want that information, it's gonna cost ya!"

Shouts of disbelief came from the other girls, who were clearly outraged that the information broker seemed to be stonewalling them. Argo just smiled, taking pleasure in the entire situation. "Relax. I did say I'd tell ya my story, but I didn't say I'd do it for free. I've gotta keep my reputation as a hard-bargaining information dealer after all. But, in the interest of fairness I won't charge ya too much. Just 500 yld from each of you and I'll gladly tell you all how Kii-boy and I met."

The other four girls grumbled, but they each eventually opened their menus and transferred the requested funds to Argo, who continued sitting smugly in her chair with her legs crossed as she looked at the others. She might be an outsider within this group, but she had more experience with MMOs than any of them, and had known Kirito longer than any of them except Leafa. Plus, her longtime role as an info broker had taught her the best ways to persuade others to act as she wished and to make them believe that she always held all of the cards, regardless of whether that was actually true.

The Rat checked her inventory, confirming that everyone had properly paid up, then swiped it closed. "A pleasure doing business with ya!" she said, her tone far too chipper for the others' taste. "Now then," she began, "It was a few days in to the SAO beta when Kii-boy and I first met. I tried playing around for a bit as a fighter, but sneaky characters have always been my thing and I quickly lapsed back into old habits. The whiskers seemed to fit that persona perfectly, so I started marketing myself as the Rat, the first and only professional info broker in the beta." She deliberately excluded the origins of her famous whiskers. Even though anyone who had taken on the quest for the martial arts skill in old Aincrad would probably have an idea of how she'd originally gotten them, only herself and Kirito knew the full story. She intended to keep it that way, so unless someone paid her the exorbitantly high fee that she reserved for that information, no one else would ever be privy to that rather embarrassing information.

"As you can guess, I managed to make a name for myself rather quickly," Argo continued, "Most players didn't have the patience to spend time discovering and researching all of the hidden secrets and gameplay information that had been littered throughout Aincrad, plus there were always people eager for information on other players. Of course, that also meant that none of them trusted me much beyond what information I could provide them with. Well, one day I got a request from a small party that had been involved in clearing the third floor. Apparently, they were a bit miffed because someone else had been getting the last attack bonus in on several of the bosses, which meant they were missing out on the rare drops. They didn't seem to know much about the guy, just that he tended to dress in black and stayed on his own for the most part. So, they hired me to find out as much about him as possible and send him into an ambush so that they could teach him a lesson…"

(Flashback)

Argo had been looking for her mark for the past two hours without much success. It was rather obnoxious to try finding a player when the only information she really had to go on was that he dressed in black. That could potentially describe any number of people, even though the majority of the beta players stuck to dressing in rather bright colors, ones more fitting for Sword Art's high fantasy setting. Finally, however, her patience seemed to pay off. A player had just logged in, dressed in dark pants and a black cloak. It was hard to be sure that he was the one she'd been hired to track down, but the fact that he immediately went racing off out of the town, paying absolutely no mind to any of the other players around him, made her intuitively know for certain that this was her target.

She let him run a fair bit ahead of her before activating her sneak and search skills and following after the boy. He seemed to know where he was going, rather than wandering aimlessly, so at least that meant she hopefully wouldn't be stuck racing around all afternoon. Finally, about ten minutes out of the town, the black-clad boy stopped, to Argo's slight confusion. She'd assumed that this guy had been planning on farming some of the mobs on the floor, the usual reason why people wandered out of the safe zones and into the wilderness, but there didn't seem to be any spawns around to hunt. As she crept closer, she was able to get a better look at her quarry. He certainly didn't look particularly impressive or notable. The only visible weapon that she could see was a simple one-handed sword strapped to his back, and even though she was sure it had been upgraded by a smith (since there was no way someone would take part in a raid using only basic, un-upgraded equipment), it didn't seem to be anything special. And, underneath his cloak he just wore clothes, rather than any visible armor. Most players tended to put on as much heavy armor as possible, since its mobility drawbacks and weight were vastly overshadowed by its defensive properties. The fact that he seemed confident enough to go adventuring without such armor made her all the more intrigued.

"Whoever's out there, why don't you go ahead and show yourself." The boy suddenly spoke, his tone matter-of-fact rather than angry. Argo jolted slightly in surprise, then grinned. This was the first time she'd found someone who'd invested enough time in their search skill to be able to see through her sneaking. She'd gotten her sneak ability about as high as it could practically be raised given how long she'd been participating in the beta, so even though the system favored players' detection abilities versus the attempts of other players to hide, most players only wanted to focus on flashier and more immediately useful combat skills.

Turning her sneak setting off, Argo stepped out of the shadows where she'd been hiding. "Heya!" she said in greeting, "That's an impressive detect level that you've got there! So, who might you be?"

"My name's Kirito," he said almost automatically in reply. He seemed to realize how odd it was that someone had been following him without even knowing who he was. "So, who are you?" he asked, "And what are you doing following me?"

Argo wagged a finger. "Hey now. If you want that kind of information, it's gonna cost you."

"Are you serious?" the boy, Kirito, asked, flabbergasted, "I just told you who I am, and now you're going to charge me for your name?"

The Rat shrugged. "That's just how it works. I've built myself a reputation as an information broker, so selling details people want to know is sort of my thing. If I just go about giving information out for free, all of my business would dry up pretty quick. But don't worry, everything's for sale! Fifty col and I'll tell you my name. For 20,000 col I'll even sell you all the details of my level, abilities, and inventory!"

"Seriously?" Kirito replied, his tone deadpan. Argo just kept grinning until the boy reluctantly opened his inventory and transferred fifty col to the Rat.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya," Argo said, "My name's Argo, and like I said, I'm the one and only information broker here in Aincrad." She thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, I should have waited and sold that little piece of information to ya too."

"That still doesn't answer my question of why you're out here following me," Kirito observed. "Don't tell me. That's going to cost me again, isn't it?" Argo couldn't keep her shit-eating grin off her face, which provided all the answer that Kirito needed. "How much?" he said.

"That depends," Argo responded, "I can tell you why I'm out here, who, if anyone, hired me, and if anyone did hire me, I might tell you why!"

"Alright, how much for 'all of the above'?" Kirito said, not wanting to get stuck in a never-ending series of microtransactions.

"Well, you've been a pretty good sport about all this, and knowing how high your detect skill is might be pretty useful," Argo replied, "So, how about I sell you all of the information for 1000 col? Or, you could pay half that and owe me a favor!"

"I get the feeling that owing you a favor might not be in my best interest," Kirito replied drily. He opened his menu again and transferred another thousand col over to Argo.

"Well, that's too bad," Argo said, slightly disappointedly. She could think of many uses for someone with such a high search skill, and it was always useful to have favors that she could call in. "Anyways, a trio of players, DFlameMaster, Kriddick, and Ramos, hired me to track you down and give them whatever information I could find out about you. They also wanted me to lead you to a spot so they could ambush you, if I could pull that off. I think they're a bit pissy 'cause they think you've been takin' the last attack bonus away from them in the last few boss raids."

Kirito rubbed the back of his head, apparently slightly embarrassed about the subject. "I guess I have been scoring the last attack for the last several raids. I didn't think anyone would be that upset though." His expression changed to one of curiosity, "Won't your clients be a bit upset that you sold them out so willingly?"

"Nyahaha!" Argo chortled, "I never said anythin' about maintaining their privacy! I've made it pretty clear that I'm willin' to sell any information I can get my hands on, so they've got nothin' to complain about!" She did make a mental note on the subject though. The fact that people wanted to hire her to get various pieces of information was a valuable detail in itself. Maybe once the game fully released she'd see how much people were willing to pay to maintain their anonymity. Anything to increase her bottom line!

"Still," Kirito continued, "I don't think they'd be too happy that you just told me everything about their plans. What'll you do if they decide to come after you?"

"What, you're worryin' about me now?" Argo asked in confusion. "You're the one that they're plannin' on PKing after all."

"Maybe, but you've been pretty honest, even though you've been shaking me down for it," the boy observed, "and I'd hate to see them take their anger out on you. How about you tell me where this ambush is supposed to be, and I can resolve this once and for all. That way, you'll still have fulfilled your end of the deal, right?"

Argo blinked in momentary surprise, then shook her head as her smile shifted to one of amusement. "I suppose that could work if ya really want to do things like that," she said, "but I have ta let ya know that that's one of the most hilariously naïve things I've heard in quite some time. What'd ya say your name was? Kirito?"

The black clad boy nodded.

"Eh, that doesn't seem properly fittin' to me," Argo said matter-of-factly, "I'm gonna call ya Kii-boy. That's much more appropriate for someone so naïve!"

Kirito groaned. "Could you please not call me that?"

Argo's grin widened. "Nope! I've made up my mind! You're 'Kii-boy' from now on!" Turning away, she began to walk off. "If you wanna see where these guys are at, just follow me!"

The ambush site had been set about twenty minutes away, far enough from any safe zones that it wouldn't be easy to retreat to safety once things got hairy. There were always teleport crystals, but those were notoriously difficult to use in PvP encounters due to the time delay required to activate them. Argo had to admit that these three had at least done their basic research in picking an appropriate spot to gank someone.

As expected, the three conspirators were trying to hide their presence, though their sneak skills were so painfully weak that Argo could see through it with ease. And, of course, if she could see them, then that meant Kii-boy wouldn't have any trouble spotting them either. Argo strode nonchalantly into the clearing, with Kirito following pretty closely behind her. As soon as they were somewhat surrounded, the three ambushers dropped their attempt to hide and move towards Kirito and Argo, attempting to look as menacing as possible.

Kriddick, who had apparently assumed the leadership role for the three, moved in closer, armed with a solid looking sword and shield. That particular combination had proven to be the most popular combat build for the beta, as it provided both solid damage and strong defense. "Nice work Rat," he said to Argo, with a noticeable emphasis of distaste on her title, "I wasn't sure that you'd actually get him here and we'd have to settle for trying to plan a different ambush. I guess you earned all that money we spent hiring you after all."

Argo didn't bother replying to the man. She just looked at Kirito, apologetically gave a slight shrug, then hopped outside the enclosing ring that Kriddick and his cohorts had formed. DFlameMaster had apparently decided to build an axe wielder, sacrificing the defensive properties of a shield in favor of greater damage from the brutal two-handed weapon, while Ramos brandished a spear, allowing him to attack from further away than a standard melee weapon could reach. Argo felt a twang of sadness and guilt. Kii-boy had been looking out for her, and he'd actually been pretty fun to mess with. Not many people were willing to play her game and still show concern about her in the end. But, it had been his choice after all. She just hoped that it wouldn't be too ugly to watch. She'd already grown a bit too fond of the black-clad swordsman.

DFlameMaster decided to attack first, and to Argo's surprise, Kirito artfully dodged the swing, making it look clumsy and unrefined, then immediately grabbed the sword off his back and lashed out, sending the axe wielder stumbling backwards, his HP already knocked into the yellow. His reaction speed was impressive to say the least, rather high praise for the agility focused Argo. Seeing their comrade forced back so easily prompted the other two to attack together, trying to put Kirito off balance. The tactic worked moderately well, with Kirito struggling to fend off both the spear and sword striking in his direction, but the fight seemed rather evenly matched.

DFlameMaster picked himself off the ground and seemed to sense an opening as the black swordsman seemed too focused on deflecting the other two attackers. Rising to his feet, he made a quick dash towards Kirito, ready to hit him while his back was turned.

"I wouldn't advise that," Argo muttered to herself, already anticipating what was likely to happen. The axe wielder launched into his attack, and Kirito rolled to the side, taking himself out of harm's way. And clearing the way for DFlameMaster to end up skewered by Ramos's spear. DFlameMaster let out a gasp of surprise before his HP dropped to zero, followed by his avatar shattering into fragmented crystals. He was likely to be in a bad mood once he respawned in the nearest safe zone, given the substantial death penalty the game imposed.

Ramos soon shared his friend's fate as Kirito took advantage of his shock to dash inside the range of the spear and deliver a few well-placed strikes, draining his HP as well. That left Kriddick, whose eyes widened in surprise at the swift and ignominious defeat of his fellows. "Dammit," he cursed, "You'll pay for that you little shit." Bringing his shield up, he cautiously moved in once more, lashing out with his sword when he the chance and deflecting counterblows with his shield.

Now, the fight seemed like it would be a draw. As skilled as Kirito was, his fighting style didn't lend itself well to a skillful, shield-wielding opponent, and both players only managed to slightly chip away at each other's HP.

Kriddick seemed to realize that they were in a standstill as well. "Hey, Rat!" he suddenly shouted, "I'll pay you triple if you help finish this guy off!"

Triple, huh? That was quite a bit of col right there… Argo swiped at her menu and equipped the clawed gauntlets that she'd taken a shine to as her main weapon on those occasions where she did need to fight. Kirito saw her equip the weapons, and his eyes grew wide for a moment. Then, he turned his back to her, shifting his attention completely to Kriddick.

That confused Argo. Why would he turn his back to her? After all, she'd just been asked to attack him, and he'd seen her equip her weapons, so why would he just ignore her like that? Well, it didn't really matter too much. She'd already made her decision after all. With lightning speed, she dashed towards Kirito, claws at the ready. Then, at the last moment, she ducked down and slid, passing underneath the weapons of both Kirito and Kriddick, slashing at the latter's legs with her claws as she passed under. The unexpected attack sent Kriddick toppling to the ground, and he looked at Argo in shock.

"But, I told you I'd pay you to attack this guy!" he protested, "I thought that you never turned down an opportunity to make money!"

Argo scowled slightly, removing the hood that she normally wore, so that her face was fully visible. "Listen here," she said sternly, "I'm an information broker, not a mercenary. I might sell every last bit of information on a person, but ya can't just pay me to attack someone. At least I've got standards, apparently unlike you." She gestured towards Kirito. "I guess you can do whatcha like with this one Kii-boy," she said, "My part in this whole thing is done."

"You should leave," Kirito said to Kriddick, "I'm not going to attack you while you're helpless. But it's definitely not cool to gang up and try to attack someone like that."

Kriddick got to his feet, rendered to a sputtering wreck at the offhanded reprimand, and slowly walked off, mumbling curses at Kirito and Argo and griping about how unfair things were. Once he was out of sight, Kirito sheathed his sword on his back once again.

Now it was Argo's turn to ask the questions, a rather unusual position for her. "What was the deal with that?" she demanded, "You saw me gettin' ready to attack ya, and yet you turn your back? What kind of idiot move is that?"

"I knew you wouldn't attack me," Kirito replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How could you possibly know that?" Argo continued to press, "You've seen how stingy I am and how much I love makin' money. How could you not think I'd attack you if I got paid for it!?"

Now it was Kirito's turn to smirk. "Hang on. I think that if you want that information then it's going to cost you. How about 500 col if you want to find out."

For the first time in a long while, Argo smiled in a way that wasn't full of self-assuredness or aloof amusement. It was a simple smile of happiness at finally finding someone willing to play her at her own game. She immediately transferred the col to Kirito. "Now then, what could your reasoning possibly have been?"

"Simple," Kirito responded, "I trust you. You might be willing to sell any kind of information, and you might be really stingy, but through our entire conversation you were completely honest. You were fair and transparent with me, and a person like that isn't the type to stab me in the back on a whim, no matter how much money is offered."

That kind of attitude was so…stupid. And yet, he wasn't wrong. It was nice to find someone who actually saw beyond her aura as an information broker. She had become so used to people keeping her at arm's length and refusing to trust her because of her status. "Man, you really are naïve, aren'tcha Kii-boy," she said, her usual cocky demeanor returning, "Ya know, someday that's gonna come and bitecha in the ass. But, at least today you're not wrong." She considered for a moment. "I've already grown a bit fond of you, Kii-boy. How about you add me to your friends list? I'm sure that we could get into plenty of trouble together."

Now it was Kirito's turn to look a bit uncomfortable as he paled ever so slightly. "I, uh, don't really add people to my friends list. I'm used to playing solo, you know?"

"Oh come on now," Argo chided, "ya can't just go through an MMO without making at least a few friends!"

"Well I have," Kirito shot back.

That made Argo grin again. "Are ya tellin' me that you don't have anyone on your friends list?" Kirito reluctantly nodded in affirmation. "Great!" Argo crowed triumphantly, "Then I get to be yer first!" She sent the friend request, and watched as Kirito stared at it hesitantly for a few seconds. She looked at him with a gaze that she hoped told him that he didn't have any choice in the matter, then allowed herself a smug feeling as he finally accepted. "Great!" she proclaimed, "I'm lookin' forward to working with ya again in the future!"

Kirito looked a bit nervous about that, but didn't press on the issue. Instead, he took a different route. "Anyways, Argo, I heard them call you 'Rat' a few times. Are those whisker marks on your face? Why did you get those?"

Argo grinned once again. "You don't ask a girl the reason she puts on make-up, do ya? I'll tell you for one hundred thousand col."

Kirito's jaw dropped at the outrageous figure, amusing Argo even more. Oh yes, she was very much looking forward to getting to know Kii-boy better. And maybe, after the game officially released, she could see about claiming him for herself…

(End Flashback)

The other girls had been listening to Argo's story with rapt attention, each of them curious to hear how the Rat, the first of them other than Leafa to have actually met Kirito, had first become acquainted with the black swordsman. As her story concluded, Argo curled up in her seat, quite pleased with how this whole meeting had gone.

"So, I guess in the end, we're all just hopeless," commented Lisbeth, breaking the comfortable silence following the last tale, "We all managed to fall for that dork even though it was obvious that he and Asuna were going to end up together."

"Yeah," Sinon agreed, "I can't help but imagine what things would have been like if I could've had a chance with him. He and Asuna always look so happy, and along with Yui they seem like the perfect, ideal family."

"Yui really is sweet," Leafa said in agreement, "and to be honest…I've been imagining what it would be like to have that same relationship, to have a child with the person I love."

"Have you now?" Lisbeth said, a lewd grin making its way onto her face once again, "That'd be fun to see, especially with your…assets." That comment caused Leafa's face to flush crimson, and she couldn't even stammer out a reply. "But, I guess I'm not much different," the blacksmith continued, "I mean, having a kid is kinda supposed to be the ultimate sign of how much two people love each other."

Silica looked rather nervous at the conversation, but hesitantly chimed in. "I've never really taken care of anything more than Pina, but…sometimes I do think about what it would be like to have a baby with Kirito. He's never seen me as anything other than a little sister though, so it's just a dream."

Sinon snorted a bit. "I wonder what says about us then, since we're all thinking pretty much the same thing. What about you Argo?"

The Rat gave a grin, her expression almost lewd enough to put Lisbeth's to shame. "Isn't it obvious? Of course I'd love to convince Kii-boy that he should have a kid with me. It's only natural for girl to want her man to give her a family. Even with A-chan having Yui to dote over, I'm pretty sure that she's feelin' the same way." Argo turned her head towards the hallway further in to the cottage. "Isn't that right, A-chan?"

A squeak came echoing from behind the wall in the hallways, and other four girls' attentions immediately snapped towards where Argo was looking. Asuna's blue-haired undine avatar nervously walked out into the open, and the faces of all the girls other than Argo paled substantially.

"You knew Asuna was there the whole time and you still let us say all that?" Lisbeth demanded of Argo, though her voice was rather scratchy.

"Oh she wasn't there the whole time," Argo assured, "Only since about halfway through your story!"

Lisbeth's jaw dropped and she turned to face her closest friend, who was staring rather blankly at all of the other girls in the room. "Asuna," she said, trying to salvage what little she could, "I'm so so—"

"All of you like Kirito?" Asuna said softly, cutting the blacksmith off, "This whole time, all of you have wanted Kirito for yourselves?"

Lisbeth grimaced, and Leafa, Silica, and Sinon looked away guiltily, none of them able to meet Asuna's gaze. For her part, Argo just sat patiently, wanting to watch how the scene unfolded. "Asuna," Lisbeth started again, "I'm sorry that I never told you how I really felt. We all are." The others nodded in agreement. "We just didn't want to hurt you or interfere with you and Kirito, because the two of you have always been so happy together."

"You're sorry!?" Asuna stated, her incredulous tone surprising Lisbeth and the others, "I'm the one who should be sorry. I had no idea that you all have been hurting yourselves, just so Kirito and I could be happy. I don't want that! You all are my best friends, and I don't want to keep hurting you like this."

"No, it's fine," Sinon said, trying to assuage Asuna's conscience, "We all know how important Kirito is to you, and how happy the two of you are. We could have tried to do something before now, but we didn't because we want the two of you to be happy together."

Asuna shook her head. "No…no, this isn't right. It's not fair for me to be taking all of the happiness for myself! I couldn't live with myself know that I'd just let all of you turn your backs on your own happiness just for my sake."

This was roughly what Argo had imagined might happen. A-chan, like Kii-boy, was rather softhearted deep down. That's why she had gambled on this in the first place. If she'd thought that there was any real chance of A-chan being angry after learning about the other girls' feelings then she would have cut them off the moment she'd noticed her arrival. Leaning forward in her chair, the Rat looked at Asuna expectantly. "So, then, what do you plan to do, now that you know all this, huh A-chan?"

Silence followed her question, since Asuna clearly didn't have a response prepared. After a short while, Silica was the one to finally speak up, to everyone's surprise. "Well," she began hesitantly, "we all like Kirito, don't we? I mean, that's what this whole discussion has been about, right? Maybe…maybe we could share him?"

That was certainly a surprise to Argo. The solution itself had been obvious, but of all the people to initially suggest such a thing, Silica would have been her last guess. Maybe she'd underestimated the beast tamer. "Nyahaha, I think that sounds like the most appropriate plan, given the circumstances. Whaddya think A-chan?"

Asuna was quiet, apparently still trying to process the suggestion in light of everything she'd just learned.

"How would that even work?" Sinon asked, "I mean, share him? It just doesn't seem very practical."

"No," said Leafa, finally ready to voice her own thoughts, "I think Silica's right. I mean, of course we couldn't all marry him. The law certainly wouldn't recognize that, but then again, I probably wouldn't be able to marry him anyways. But, even if we can't officially marry Kazuto, we could all still get him to love us. It might be a little weird, and I'm sure if other people found out they might not understand, but it still seems like the only way for all of us to be happy."

"It'll definitely be weird, at least at first," Lisbeth remarked, "But I could definitely think of worse outcomes." She turned to face Asuna again. "And this way none of us have to feel left behind. Right Asuna?"

The undine nodded slowly in agreement. "The real issue is convincing Kirito to go along with it," the blacksmith continued, "He's usually so clueless that I doubt he has any idea of how we all feel. And it was hard enough for Asuna to get him to admit how he felt. How much harder is it going to be for all of us to convince him to return our feelings?"

"I'll take care of that," Asuna said softly. She forced a smile onto her face and tried to look and sound more confident. "Yes, I'll take care of that! It might be difficult, like you said, but we've all got the next few weeks free, right?" Each of the other girls nodded. "Good. Then I'll set up a trip to the beach with us and Kirito. That'll give us some relative seclusion, and we can confront him there. I'm sure that he'll listen if we all work together."

"Well, I guess it's a plan then," Argo declared happily, "It'll be fun to finally meet Kii-boy and the rest of you all IRL! I'm sure he'll be quite surprised." She turned to address Asuna directly. "One last thing A-chan. I'm sure that you got to hear our entire conversation, so there's something in particular that I think we all want during this trip…"