A/N: It looks like my experiment of writing chapters one in advance doesn't really work.

Chapter 5: An Undesired Party

"The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out."
-J. R. R. Tolkien

"Intel, what can you tell me about these things?" Kirito kept his voice low as he asked the question.

The six members—including Intel, who was still probationary—of the Black Knights had split into two groups of three for grinding today. Asuna was leading Dweion and Kasui through a small cave-type dungeon in the southern part of the second floor, while Kirito led Intel and Diabel in an exploration of the floor's Labyrinth.

Intel studied the creatures—Chimeras—before them. They had each a lion's head on their necks, but in addition a goat's head sprung from their upper back and their long tails ended in a snake's hissing visage. Their front claws clicked and their back hooves clacked on the marble floors of the dungeon.

"Their primary heads," Intel said slowly, "look like first-floor Lions, and their middle heads are NPC's goats. As in, the avatar is identical. We can expect similar abilities. The third head worries me."

Kirito nodded. "Poison?" he asked.

"Possibly," Intel said, "but look. They're not all the same textures—the snakes are different. Do you want me to pull out my Encyclopedia Infandus?"

The Encyclopedia Infandus was Intel's project. It was a file in his player's log which he planned to send to the first floor each time he cleared a new floor. It contained his data on every monster in the floor that he had managed to observe or hear of secondhand.

"Think they're all other snake-type mobs?" Kirito asked.

Intel nodded. "I do. We can expect different types of status effects from each. That one, there—" he pointed at a Chimera whose snake-tail was patterned with red diamonds over black scales "—is a Pit Serpent; remember how it gave Kasui 'Disorientation'?"

Kirito nodded with a grimace. The 'Disoriented' status was far less dangerous then 'Panic' or 'Insanity', the two worst mental status effects in Aincrad, but it had effectively rendered Kasui a sitting duck for the remainder of that fight. Kirito had barely been able to keep her alive by having Dweion use a Sword Skill in conjunction with their environment to keep the snakes away.

Mental status effects had begun appearing in earnest across the second floor. It had gotten to the point that Argo had released a warning to all players about them. No one had a response as of yet. It had made solo play an order of magnitude more dangerous, because a solo player who Panicked or went Insane was practically guaranteed to die.

"How's your Observe?" Kirito asked Intel.

Intel shook his head. "Not enough to give me detailed data on these things," he said. "It was the first thing I tried. They're level sixteen, in case you were wondering."

"I was," Kirito confirmed. It had been three weeks since the first floor was cleared, and their levels had shot up on the new floor. Kirito had broken level sixteen himself two days before, while Asuna had caught up with him the next day. Diabel, Dweion, and Kasui remained at level fifteen, although Diabel looked to follow them up soon, and Intel had nearly caught up, currently at level thirteen.

"I think we can take them one at a time," Kirito said slowly. "Will their AI allow for isolation?"

Intel bit his lip. "Lions don't converge like this at all," he said quietly. "You never see this many of them in one place without Lionesses. Snake-types never collaborate with other snake-types, either. They're acting like Goats, and Goats are nearly impossible to isolate."

Kirito nodded. "Then we fall back," he decided. "Quietly; don't draw attention. Diabel, take a DEF Decoction, in case we need you to cover our escape."

Diabel nodded wordlessly and pulled out a bottle. He uncapped it and threw it back in one long draught as they began to creep quietly away from the Chimera nest, careful not to dislodge any stones or other junk as they walked.

Once he felt safe enough, Kirito straightened up and looked around. "Anyone see somewhere we can put up a sign?" he asked his teammates. "We should put up some kind of warning."

Diabel nodded, looking slightly ill, and pointed at a patch of visible loam on the wall where the Labyrinth's stones parted. "Plant it in the wall," he croaked. "Write sideways. Christ, I hate decoctions…"

Kirito gave him a sympathetic grin as he gestured to Intel. "Intel, if you would?"

Intel, as the mastermind behind their efforts to control and catalogue upper-floor mobs, was their designated carrier of warning signs. He nodded, drew one out of his inventory, and planted it firmly in the wall.

"All right," he said, turning to Kirito. "Where to next?"

Kirito opened his map and scanned its area. Most of this section of the labyrinth had now been explored, save for the areas past the Chimeras.

"We could go west," he said. "There's a spawn area for Drakes we'll have to go through, and then we'll be in an unexplored sec—" he stopped as a small chime echoed in his ears and an icon appeared in his interface.

"Message," he said with a frown. "Give me a minute."

He opened the text and scanned it quickly.

Kirito,

We need to talk about things other than bosses, don't we? Afraid that's not going to happen this time. I need Argo the Rat's contact info. My guild's scouting group just found the second floor boss, and she's the only one who I think can get all the clearers organized. Help a guy out?

Klein

Kirito blinked and swallowed. "Boss was just found," he told his teammates, hitting the reply button. "Diabel, send a Guild message to the others while I respond to this."

Klein,

Good job finding the room. Argo's playerID is

Kirito quickly tabbed out of the message composer and into his friends list, took note of Argo's identifier, and returned to the message.

00257. Mind ccing me in whatever you send her?

Kirito

He sent the message and quickly popped open the Guild message Diabel had sent.

Someone else found the boss, messaged Kirito. Orders incoming.

Diabel

Kirito nodded and looked between his two guildmates. "I think…"

A chime. Kirito held up a hand as he checked his inbox.

Kirito,

Sure! ;)

Klein

Kirito closed the message and continued. "I think we should head back out," he said. "Get everyone back to headquarters and make a plan."

Diabel nodded. "We'll need to gear up," he agreed. "Make sure we're fully ready for a fight. Shopping might take a full day, and we'll want to go through our loot and make sure there's nothing we can use."

Kirito opened his guild tab and typed an announcement.

Black Knights, report to headquarters for debriefing and further orders. We need to prepare.

Kirito

Argo the Rat, (cc: Kirito)

We haven't met, but I'm Klein, leader of the clearer guild Fūrinkazan. Kirito sent me your playerID so I could contact you. My guild found the second floor boss earlier today, and we wanted to see if you could get the clearers together to plan a raid.

This boss looks harder than Illfang was. I wasn't in the beta, so I can't be sure. It's called Asterius the Taurus King, and it's level seventeen. None of my people are even level sixteen. Should we wait to assault it? I don't think we can do it without getting everyone on board.

Keep me posted, please!

Klein

…

Klein, (cc: Kirito)

Raids during the beta were much less organized, but the stakes were lower. Contacting me was a good idea. I'll get in touch with the other clearing guilds I have contact with and get fliers posted on the second floor. Kirito, can we use your guild house as a meeting place?

Argo the Rat

…

Argo, (cc: Klein)

Go ahead. Let me know if I should expect Heathcliff to show.

Kirito

…

General message: Being sent to all Guildmasters and Guild representatives in contact with Argo the Rat

The second floor boss was located earlier today by the guild Fūrinkazan. They requested that the clearers be organized to respond. All players involved in clearing efforts are requested to report to the Black Knights guild house at 9:00 AM tomorrow for organization.

Argo the Rat

…

Kirito (cc: Klein)

Expect him.

Argo

Kirito's eyes opened with his alarm. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. His HUD clock told him it was 8 in the morning.

He let himself take a moment to remember the previous day and plan the coming one.

Then his eyes opened again. Right, he thought, Heathcliff. Boss.

He stretched and swung his legs over the side of his bed before standing up. He took his time navigating his menus, and considered carefully before putting on a nicer-looking black coat than his usual fare, with slightly lower stats. This is going to be a different kind of fight, Kirito mused, and stats won't help me here.

He stepped out and was greeted by Diabel leaving his room across the hall. The man had clearly been thinking along the same lines, and had discarded his usual silver and blue platemail in favor of black and blue scalemail to match Kirito's colors.

The blue-haired man nodded approvingly at Kirito's garb. "The old battle-worn armor is not the call for this one," he said. "We should get the others to change, too. Probably into something black, to fit the Guild colors."

Kirito shrugged. "That's not a big deal for me," he said. "I think I might rather we keep with our own colors, actually."

Diabel shrugged noncommittally. "It's your call, of course," he said. "But if you take my advice, we'll go in uniform for this."

Kirito nodded. "You're the speaker," he said. "We'll do it your way. I'll tell Intel and Asuna."

He turned to his right and walked down the hall to the two newer members' rooms. He knocked lightly on Asuna's door first. "Asuna," he called softly. "You up?"

"Come in, Kirito!" her voice answered from within. He did.

Asuna was just putting on her red and white battledress as he entered. She turned to smile at him. "Ready for the day?" she asked. Then she noticed his outfit. "You look nice," she said. "What's the occasion?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "We'll want to look our best for this meeting," he said. "Heathcliff, the leader of the Blood Oath, and I… we don't get along. Diabel said we should try to coordinate our uniforms to my colors."

Asuna smiled amusedly. "So… black?"

Kirito rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly. "His idea, not mine. He's in something black and blue, so it's not all black."

Asuna chuckled. "Only you wear all black." She flicked through her menu, considering. "I've got three outfits that would work," she said thoughtfully. "Do you want to help me decide?"

He backed away nervously. "I'd rather you picked…"

She looked at him in amusement. "Come on, I don't bite. Here's the first one."

She tapped a button and her clothing swapped into a chainmail battledress with black rings and a white cloth tunic over it. She studied it critically. "Bit loose," she mused. "Well, here's the second one."

Another tap, and her outfit swapped to a two-piece plateskirt and platemail, black with red trim. The top was classic MMO female armor; barely more than metal underwear.

Asuna frowned at her bare shoulders. "Too eye-catching, maybe?" she wondered. "I'm not leader; probably shouldn't be the focus." She glanced up at him with a wink. "What do you think, Kirito?" she pirouetted gracefully. "Do I look nice?"

He swallowed and fought to keep his eyes on her face. "Yes," he said firmly. "You do. The third one?"

She giggled. "Sorry, Kirito," she apologized, swapping outfits again. The new outfit was a little away from her usual fare; a lighter, hardened-cloth one-piece which hugged her form closely and opened to show skin in places, but was far from the revealing mess that the previous outfit had been. It opened to allow her shoulders air, and the skirt was relatively short, but otherwise the outfit seemed legitimately protective. It was primarily black with red trim.

She looked pleased. "I like this one," she said. "What do you think?"

He shrugged. "It's your pick."

She looked at him, deadpan. "Thanks for the honest opinion, Kirito."

He ducked his head embarrassedly. "You look nice in any of them," he complained. "What do you want me to say?"

She sighed exasperatedly. "You really don't know how to help a woman shop, do you?"

Kirito threw up his hands. "Not exactly my area of expertise, no," he said flatly. "I'm a fourteen-year-old gamer who looks like a girl, what do you expect?"

There was a beat of silence. Kirito didn't look at Asuna.

"Sorry," he said, turning around and opening the door. "I didn't mean to shout. Just… wear whatever you want. Diabel said that our colors would be best. I need to tell Intel."

He left the room and leaned back against the closed door, rubbing his face. His thoughts were jumbled in a way he opted not to even try to decipher. After a moment he crossed to Intel's room and opened its door.

Intel was already dressed in his usual armor and was currently flicking through his menus rapidly. He nodded at Kirito as he entered. "I was just looking through the public data I've collected on the guilds who are showing," the boy said by way of greeting. "Some interesting backgrounds here."

Kirito nodded. "First of all," he said, "Diabel wants us in dress uniforms, in my colors—black and whatever trim you want."

Intel nodded and flicked through to his inventory before swapping into something that looked less like armor and more like a tailored suit whose undershirt happened to be white ringmail. "Will this do?" he asked.

Kirito nodded. "Sure," he said. "What do you have on the Guilds?"

Intel shrugged and flicked back to his text files. "We've got four major guilds showing up," he said, "and you already know Fūrinkazan and—well, us—as well as I do. The other two are the Blood Oath and the Divine Dragon Alliance. The ALF is sending a squad too, but they're not a political entity in any way and have basically told their men to follow whoever leads the charge."

Kirito nodded. "That suits what I know about Thinker," he agreed. He still hadn't met the man, but Argo had kept him posted regarding first-floor goings-on. "What about the DDA? What's their angle?"

Intel shrugged. "Expect them to break formation to go for the last attack," he said. "Other than that, they haven't really shown much. They're large, but they've had a disproportionately small number of confrontations and meetings with the Blood Oath. Any idea why?"

Kirito nodded. "They're keeping out of Heathcliff's way," he said. "With only two floors available, Aincrad's a bit claustrophobic for looters like them. They're being extra careful to avoid stepping on any powerful toes. And the Blood Oath? Any information on them?"

Intel frowned. "They're obviously our biggest rivals," he said slowly. "I don't know the first thing about psychology, but even I expect Heathcliff will want to lead the charge against the boss." He studied Kirito sidelong. "Other than that, though… I don't really see why you dislike him so much. The man seems like a driven, powerful individual whose goals are the same as our own."

Kirito nodded, his face set. "Yeah," he agreed. "He is that. He's a lot of other things, but he is that." He shrugged. "It's the other things I object to."

Intel cocked his head. "Other things?" he asked. "What sort?"

Kirito grimaced. "Heathcliff wore red and white before the Blood Oath even formed," he said, "whereas the DDA's colors were determined by vote when the Guild was created. That ring any alarm bells?"

Intel shrugged. "Not really," he admitted. "Should it? Heathcliff's Guildmaster—it's his call."

Kirito shook his head slowly. "Maybe," he acknowledged. "I don't know. It's just a feeling I get about him. He's… egotistical, in a way that rubs me wrong."

"Kirito," Intel admonished. "I'm egotistical."

Kirito snorted. "He's subtler about it," he said, "and not in the good way. The Blood Oath has always been a little too… cultish for my tastes."

Intel nodded. "I guess I can understand that," he said. He closed his menu and stood. "We're low on time," he said, "and my map says Asuna's in the kitchen, so I expect we'll have food to serve our guests. Shall we head down?"

Kirito nodded and opened the door. "After you," he said, holding it open for the younger boy.

"Ki-bou," Argo greeted as they entered the drawing room. "Good to see you're still alive."

Kirito gave her a grin. "Argo," he acknowledged. "You're early."

The room was a medium-sized affair with windows on one wall opening out into a view of the plains where, three weeks ago, the Black Knights had almost been killed by the Wolfman. The bright sunlight of the clear day streamed in and lit the burnished oaken floorboards until they seemed to glow. Adorning the other walls were landscape paintings, all of locations on the first and second floor Kirito had now been to. In one corner to Kirito's left a floor lamp sat unlit.

Argo shrugged carelessly. "Someone has to be first," she said airily. Then she narrowed her eyes at Intel. "And this must be the 'Intel' I've heard so much about."

Intel nodded a greeting. "Argo the Rat," he said. "A pleasure."

She studied him closely. "Likewise," she said finally. "Although if you start butting into my market more than you already are, it'll be less so."

Intel frowned at her in apparent confusion. "I'm not trying to compete with you at all," he protested calmly. "Our areas of interest are completely different."

Argo rolled her eyes. "Information brokerage is information brokerage," she said philosophically. "You know the difference; I know the difference… the clientele doesn't."

Intel nodded slowly. "I don't plan on selling information I don't have," he said, a slight edge to his voice. "I hope you don't either."

Argo chuckled. "Wouldn't get many repeat customers that way, would I?" she asked rhetorically. "Don't worry: I'll give you space if you do the same for me."

Intel nodded sharply. "Agreed," he said, and took a seat in an armchair on the opposite side of the room from Argo. Kirito nudged him gently with a hand before making his way to a seat near the coffee table in the center of the room.

"How have you been, Argo?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and turning his head to face the girl.

She shrugged and emulated his posture. "Well enough," she said. "Business hasn't really picked up yet because there's not enough trivia on two floors to sell. Mostly I'm selling the same bits of basic information repeatedly to the slower newbies. I'm hoping the third floor will give me a few more secrets to trade in."

Kirito nodded. "Here's hoping," he said. "Let's focus on getting up there."

"I can get behind that," Diabel agreed, entering the room from behind Kirito. "Argo, welcome!"

Argo smirked at him. "Diabel," she greeted. "Kasui, Dweion. Good to see you all." She looked shrewdly at Kirito. "Asuna introduced herself when I came in," she said. "She's in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. She seemed… introspective."

Kirito couldn't keep his teeth from gritting momentarily. "You buying this information?" he asked casually.

Argo threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, well done, Ki-bou! You win, you win. I'll let it go."

Kirito nodded. "Shame," he said. "I could use the Col."

Before Argo could respond, there was a knock on the door. Kirito stood immediately, but Diabel spoke.

"Sit down, Guildmaster," he said quickly. "I'll let them in. You shouldn't be the one answering the door."

Kirito rolled his eyes and sat back down. "Don't call me that," he told Diabel's retreating back.

Diabel waved his hand dismissively behind him as he entered the hall. There was a beat of silence before the door opened.

"Diabel," came the voice Kirito had half hoped wouldn't be appearing quite yet. "It's been a long time. How have you been?"

"Quite well, Heathcliff," Diabel's voice responded. "I hear the Blood Oath has been recruiting heavily among talented newbies. Sounds like you're doing quite well."

"I could say much the same to you," Heathcliff's voice answered. "I hear Kirito's been recruiting as well."

"Somewhat, yes," Diabel confirmed, "but I'm being a bad host. Come in, come in. The others are in the drawing room."

There was the sound of armored feet and then Diabel emerged from the hall, leading three men in heavy red and white plate armor.

The leader of the three stepped past Diabel with a smile and held out a hand to the leader of the Black Knights. "Kirito," Heathcliff greeted merrily, his warm eyes twinkling. "It's been too long."

Kirito stood with a smile and shook the older man's gauntleted hand. "Heathcliff," he greeted. "Welcome to Black Knights headquarters."

Heathcliff nodded, looking around the base appreciatively. "It's small," he said thoughtfully, "but cozy, and you're not looking to expand the way the Blood Oath is. It's a good fit for your guild."

Kirito nodded. "We certainly thought so," he said. He gestured to the chairs around the table and the room at large. "Sit down, please," he offered, "and introduce me to your people."

Heathcliff nodded and took a seat opposite Kirito at the table. His men took up standing positions at his flanks. The leader of the Blood Oath introduced them in turn. "This," he introduced, nodding at a tall, red-bearded man with a face that might as well have been chiseled out of stone—he reminded Kirito of a more serious Dweion, "is Godfree, my Vice-Commander. This," he continued, nodding at a thin man, corded with wiry muscle, who had greasy black hair, "is Avion, Commander of the Vanguard."

Kirito greeted them both and was answered with silent nods. Then he turned back to Heathcliff. "Fūrinkazan should be here any time now," he said. "We can't really start until they can tell us something about the boss and the layout of the Labyrinth. Argo," he asked, turning to the girl, "do you happen to know who else is showing?"

Argo fiddled with her interface for a moment before pulling up a text file. "Well, us," she said. "and Fūrinkazan, of course. The Divine Dragon Alliance promised to send someone as well. In addition, I was contacted by an independent. A merchant named Agil—ring any bells?"

"He was with us in the raid on the first floor," Diabel put in. "He was the man who confronted Kibaō, do you remember, Guildmaster?"

Kirito nodded. "Yeah, I remember." The man had been large and dark-skinned, but Kirito hadn't gotten a close look. "Don't call me that."

Just then there was a knock at the door. 'Diabel?" Kirito asked, looking over at the blue-haired man.

Diabel nodded with a grin and left the room to answer. He returned with Klein and another man Kirito remembered from the raid on Illfang. "I thought it would be a good idea not to fill up the whole house with my guild," Klein said by way of explanation. "This is Dale, my second." The man was large—both tall and wide—and clad in red, with a large broadsword on his back.

Kirito gave him a grin. "Klein, Dale," he greeted. "Take a seat, both of you."

Klein did so beside Kirito at the table. Dale gave the Blood Oath soldiers a glance before taking his own seat farther back.

"Klein, Dale," Kirito introduced, "These are Heathcliff, Guildmaster of the Blood Oath," Heathcliff smiled at Klein with a nod. "and Godfree and Avion, his Vice-Commander and the Commander of his Vanguard."

Klien greeted the men with a raised left hand and a shake of Heathcliff's right. "Nice to meet you, Heathcliff," he said. "Heard a lot about you."

Heathcliff nodded humbly. "The Blood Oath has done well for itself," he said.

Another knock. Diabel went to get the door unprompted.

"I haven't heard much," Heathcliff said as Diabel left, turning to Klein, "about your observations. I hear that Baran the Taurus General was found earlier in the Labyrinth?"

Kirito nodded. "We found Baran," he confirmed. "Although he was nerfed slightly from the beta—just a damage debuff."

The Taurus General had been the boss of the second floor during the beta. When it had been found halfway through the labyrinth, it had been concerning. Whatever the new boss was, its attack pattern would be entirely new.

"We've been seeing a lot of Taurus monsters on the floor, though," Intel said. "Like the Kobolds last floor. It seems likely that it'll be another Taurus."

"It is," Klein confirmed, but was cut off when Diabel returned, leading three men. One of them Kirito recognized as the bulky, dark-skinned man from the raid on Illfang. The other two were clad in similar bright silvery armor over blue cloth padding. One wore a closed helmet over his face, exposing only a clean-shaven mouth and chin, and carried a longsword and shield strapped to his back. The other's green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair were exposed.

Kirito stood. "Agil, right?" he asked the bald, dark man, extending a hand. "We've met."

Agil nodded with a slight smile and shook his hand firmly. "I remember you from the raid," he said, "although I thought Diabel was the leader at first."

Kirito chuckled. "A fiction we like to maintain," he admitted. "Diabel's a better face for the guild." He turned to the other two. "You must be the representative from the DDA?" He asked.

The man with the unmasked face nodded firmly. "Yes," he said. "I'm Arthas, Guildmaster of the DDA. This is Shivata, one of our Enforcers."

Kirito shook their hands in turn. "Nice to meet you, Arthas, Shivata," he said. "Take a seat. Argo," he sat as he turned to the girl. "Is this everyone?"

"It should be," she nodded.

"Just in time," came Asuna's voice from the kitchen. Kirito turned in his seat to see her standing in the doorway with a large covered pot carried in both hands. She gave Kirito a slightly strained smile. "Breakfast is ready," she said. "Shall we move to the dining room, or should I get trays out?"

Kirito stood. "Let's move to the dining room," he decided. "Klein can brief us over food, and we can spread a map and discuss the plan when we finish." The drawing doom was getting crowded anyway, and the larger dining hall would have room for this many.

Heathcliff nodded. "Lead the way, then, Kirito."

Asuna fell into step beside Kirito as he led the party of fifteen down the wide corridor and turned left into the dining room. The hall had its only high windows in the back wall, which sent beams of sunlight over the tables. Its ceiling rose up to the second floor of the house, and torches lined the walls, suffusing the room with a gentle, warm light. The bronze chandelier on the ceiling only aided the homely atmosphere, as did the merrily crackling fireplace in the back wall. One round table lay in the center of the large room, with one seat just before the fire and another near the door. Sixteen chairs were set around it, each with a place already set.

Kirito circumnavigated the table and took the seat just in front of the fire. The warmth seemed to drain the tension slightly out of his frame, which had felt tight as a coiled spring from the moment Heathcliff had arrived. He hoped it wasn't showing.

Diabel took the seat immediately to his right. Asuna claimed the seat to his left by pulling it out and setting her pot down in front of it. He glanced at her quickly as she did so, but she didn't look at him.

Heathcliff sat on Asuna's other side while the rest of the Black Knights sat past Diabel. Klein took the next seat after them on Kirito's right, and Argo sat directly across from him. The only empty seat was the one to her immediate left.

Asuna pulled away from the table. "I'll get the rest," she said. "Feel free to start without me."

"We'll wait," Kirito said firmly, watching her for any sign of acknowledgement. All he got was a quick glance as she turned toward the door.

"Dweion, come on," Kasui said, standing herself. "Let's help her. Knowing Asuna, she's prepared a month's worth of feasts."

Dweion chuckled as he rose. "With your permission, Guildmaster?"

Kirito nodded. "Go ahead," he said. "And—"

"—Don't call you that, got it," Dweion said with a chortle as he followed Kasui out.

Kirito gave Heathcliff a quick glance as he rolled his eyes. Sometimes I wonder if ruling with an iron fist is the way to go, he mused.

"I recognize most of your guild members," Heathcliff said conversationally, "but Asuna and Intel are new to me. What are their roles?"

"Intel's our logistics and intelligence coordinator," Kirito explained, giving the boy a nod. "Asuna's..." he considered for a moment. "She's a fighter, like the rest of us, but she's also been a great help in keeping things stable between us. She's a great mediator."

Heathcliff nodded sagely. "It is important," he agreed, "to have someone to explain to you how other people feel. I find that I sometimes have trouble with it."

"I think everyone does, on occasion," Kirito said dryly.

At that moment, Asuna led Dweion and Kasui back into the room with plates upon plates of food, and if that wasn't enough to drive the conversation from Kirito's mind, his relief when Asuna's hand brushed his as she took her seat next to him was.

A/N: This story now has a mirror on SpaceBattles, which will recieve slightly less-polished versions of the chapters one day earlier for purposes of receiving edits. Thank you to Mizu on there for his assistance with error correction.

As always, reviews are appreciated but not solicited.