Sword Art Online III: Asgard

Nine

The dragon was an absolute bitch to beat, and both Liz and Klein nearly ran out of life. On the other hand, it had a massive loot drop.

"That was close," Yui noted, the little fairy fluttering around.

"I guess that huge treasure makes sense," Liz admitted as they sorted the stuff, "dragon's have hordes, after all."

"I got an ingot of rare metal," Kirito traded it to the team blacksmith, Liz, as did several other members of the group.

"Thanks, all. If I forge anything unusual, you get first dibs," Liz said.

Any arrows in the treasure were traded to Sinon, spare daggers to Silica and so on. There were also some rare potions, which were shared around evenly. Healing spells were cast, and mana was given time to regenerate.

"When we move into the hall between rooms, let's take a break. We can log off in shifts, get something to eat, drink and use the bathroom," Leafa suggested reasonably.

"I think it's a good idea," Asuna said, but gave the unofficial leader a look.

Kitito made a face but nodded reluctantly. "I really don't like the delay, but it does make sense," he agreed.

The group moved out of the dragon's den into the passage between rooms, then they settled in. "Keep about half of us awake at a time, just in case?" Lux suggested mildly.

"The halls are designated a safe zone," Yui said, but added thoughtfully, "but Cardinal has done unpredictable things."

"Well, how about me, Liz, Lux and Sinon guard first?" Klein offered.

Everyone agreed, and Leafa, Kirito, Asuna and Youko logged out.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Asuna took off the Amu-sphere, blinking at her ceiling. There was always an odd sensation as you logged out and returned to the real world. Of course Kirito argued that both worlds were real from a certain perspective...

Shaking her head Asuna got up off her bed, swiftly pulling a skirt on. She usually played in just a t-shirt and panties, for comfort. She went downstairs to the kitchen, then detoured to her Mother's at home office.

'Is she playing here, or her office at work?' Asuna wondered before knocking gently.

"Coming," a voice called out then the door opened. Her Mom was dressed in a plain shirt and skirt and looked slightly rumpled. Compaired to how well put together and formal she usually looked, it was actually quite shocking.

"Mother," Asuna smiled wryly. "Are you feeling OK? Stuff can sneak up on you, using the Amu-sphere for too long."

"I'm fine...," Kyouko Yuuki started to say dismissively, then she paused. An odd look appeared on her face.

A smirking Asuna moved aside as Kyouko rushed down the hall to the bathroom. The amu-sphere blocked physical sensation somewhat, so things could surprise you once you logged out. Like a very urgent need to bathroom.

A few moments Kyouko emerged, then Asuna herself took a turn.

"That was unpleasant," Kyouko made a face as she helped Asuna make the two of them some simple sandwiches.

"If you had told me you were playing ALO, I would have warned you," Asuna pointed out to her reasonably.

"Well, yes," Kyouko admitted.

"So... why ARE you playing?" Asuna had to ask her. It wasn't a question she'd normally ask, obviously, but this was her mother.

Kyouko munched on her sandwich, then drank some juice. Finally she admitted, "I suppose to understand you and Kirito better."

Asuna just blanked out a moment.

"And I will admit, it's fun," Kyouko added. She paused then asked, "Does Klein ALWAYS hit on everything that moves?"

Asuna snorted, nearly choking on a bit of food. "Pretty much, yes," she laughed. "If it helps, he actually is a responsible team leader."

Youko just gave her a look.

"Seriously," Asuna smiled faintly, "he got his entire guild through Sword Art Online intact. Not many can say that..."

"Huh," Youko nodded thoughtfully.

The two finished off their food. "I don't know if my opinion matters," Asuna said quietly, "but you're doing pretty well. I'd be glad to be in a party with you."

"Thank you..," Youko managed as Asuna strode off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Suguha Kirigaya stretched, blinking away the unfocused feeling she got after diving. Also clad in t-shirt and panties she got up, walking to the door. She stopped, realizing she was pant-less, and grabbed a pair of cargo shorts.

"Hey," Kazuto smiled as he emerged from his own room, also dressed in shirt and shorts. He still looked kind of scrawny, though he had filled out some since escaping Sword Art Online.

They both took turns at the bathroom, then started food. "Did you notice Asuna was being a bit odd with that Youko woman?" Suguha asked.

"A bit," Kazuto agreed, "maybe they know each other in real life."

Suguha made up savory rice balls, using leftovers from dinner. "Do you think we should ask?" she wondered aloud.

"I will, once we have a chance to," Kazuto reassured her as he poured them each a drink then they sat down to eat.

"Okay," Suguha agreed as they scarfed down food. "Do you think we'll make it through the dungeon before we have to quit?" she asked.

"I think so," Kazuto said, "Yui said the levels get smaller as we go up..."

"Like a regular pyramid," Suguha nodded.

"With the boss waiting for us up top," Kazuto agreed.

Suguha was finishing off her second rice ball as she asked, "Do you think the boss will be a giant again?"

"Maybe?" Kazuto made a so/so gesture, "they hit us with giants before. But there are a LOT of mythical Norse things they could hit us with."

"Joy," Suguha deadpanned.

Kazuto grinned back, "At least we know it'll be interesting." He looked thoughtful, "I need to remember to do more research on the Norse gods and such... maybe work with Silica on it."

Suguha was faintly surprised she didn't feel a twinge of jealousy over Kazuto spending time with another girl. Maybe she was finally accepting he was no longer a possibility?

"The Giants did warn us we had to beware of the Asgardians too," Suguha added as they were finishing their drinks.

"We'll have to see if Cardinal springs THAT on us too," Kazuto agreed.

Their snack finished, Suguha left a message out for their Mother. She was expected to be at her office until late, but a message was polite. Then they cleaned up and went back to their rooms. Both teens got comfortable, put on their visors, and almost at the same time went, "Link start!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Welcome back," Klein said.

Luckily, the hall had stayed peaceful while the four logged out. Yui flitted over to Kirito as he sat up and stretched, and Asuna smiled warmly.

Youko had a slightly odd look on her face, but she quickly switched to a faintly amused smile.

"Okay, Liz, Klein, Lux, Silica and Sinon, log out. We'll watch over you while you're offline," Asuna said briskly.

"Keep Kirito from doing anything perverted to us," Liz teased.

"Daddy wouldn't!" Yui said.

Sinon just laughed. "We'll be back in a bit."

As their friends sat down, then went through the virtual menus to log out, the others settled down to wait. "Yui," Youko addressed the sprite a bit awkwardly, "can we go up the hall to look into the next room without triggering an attack?"

"Not safely," Yui explained to her seriously, "if you near the doorway, there is a chance to trigger an encounter. While in theory its a 'random' chance, it is weighted to be 75% more likely to result in an encounter."

"I'm not gambling on those odds," Youko agreed.

Leafa walked over to her, "We should probably have done this earlier, but we should go over the buffs and de-buff spells we have, it'll make working together easier."

"Makes sense," Youko nodded as the two women began to talk.

Seizing the chance Kirito quietly addressed Asuna, "I've noticed a odd vibe between you and Youko. Can you tell me what's up?"

"It's... complicated," Asuna murmured. "Uhm..."

"Yes?" Kirito prompted her gently.

Asuna sighed, "She's my Mother."

"WHAT."

To be continued...

Notes: I pulled out the side story bits, moved them over to my other SAO fic, Consequences. This accidentally made it appear I updated the fic earlier. THIS is the 'new' chapter.