Chapter 6: The Dragon Ninja?! Shuriken and Punch: Team-Up!

𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. 𝟯𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿, 𝟭𝟴:𝟯𝟱…

The Wandering Forest was, as always, silent as a grave…though seeing as it was one of the most annoying Dungeons known in Aincrad so far (More for its labyrinthic form than for the difficult), that wasn't so surprising.

No, what was truly surprising was the petite figure that would have left most players in awe, if anyone had been there, upon seeing how it went jumping from tree to tree, in a way that seemed to have been copied from a certain anime.

"On the lone forest, we must wander. Never stopping, always searching for our objective…"

The figure jumped again, letting the reddish scarf she had wrapped around her neck to flap for a moment at the virtual wind.

"Our path home is long and hard. Our struggle knows no end…"

On the next jump, another smaller figure could be seen flying at the girl's side, following every jump with a flap of his wings, the blue-feathered and red-eyed creature the size of a small dog never abandoning her side.

"And yet, we shall not stop. For we have a mission to fulfill. And until it's done, we shall not rest…"

The girl finally landed on a clearing where the path between trees split in many directions, her small pigtails and childish looks combined with the slightly revealing blue-red and ninja-like clothes she wore giving her more the appearance of an otaku's long-life dream than of a terrifying warrior, which she thought they did. Neither her dragon companion nor the strange tri-pronged 'dagger' on her hip could change that.

The massive, silver and 8-pointed metallic 'star' strapped to her back, however (Bigger in diameter than twice the size of her head), would have made people blink more than once.

"Because that's our Ninja Way." apparently satisfied with her monologue, the girl stood up, opening her eyes and nodding to herself. "Right, Pina?"

"…kyuu?" answered the Feathered Little Dragon with a tilt of his head, his own question apparently catching the girl off guard.

"Kuh?! N-no! What are you talking about?!" all traces of Silica's previous 'coolness' vanished in an instant as she waved her arms at her Tamed Monster. "I-I'm not trying to sound cool just because we're lost! Which we AREN'T, by the way!"

"Kyuuru?"

"Ha-having been here for 3 hours was all part my strict ninja training since the beginning, of course!"

"Kyuuuu?" deadpanned the dragon while raising an eyebrow.

"Pre-pretending to be eager to return once we got Liz-san's requested items wa-was me testing you!"

"…kyuuuryu kyuu, kyuu?"

"…yes, we're lost." finally accepted the young girl while letting her shoulders and head fall down.

"Kyuuu."

"Yes, I should have heard your advice and brought a Teleport Crystal…but I wanted to prove Liz-san I don't need to waste those anymore! Not since we stopped getting lost every 3 days of training!"

"Kyuuku, kyu?"

"…yes, I know she's going to be pissed because of this, okay? Are you happy now?!" half-squeaking and half-angry, the girl slammed her fist against a tree. The gesture was meant to seem serious and reflect her rage, but in truth only managed to look really adorable. "Well, at least we managed to get that weird woman off our backs. Seriously, she was so annoying, trying to Team-Up with us saying we would die if we went alone." the girl crossed her arms while putting on a smile meant to look prideful, but her dragon partner only found silly. "A kunoichi (Female Ninja) like me doesn't need anyone to babysit her, and you're all the help I need, Pina!"

"…kyuu."

"Ge-getting lost again doesn't have anything to do with that!" the girl pouted at her friend with narrowed eyes, crossing her arms and looking to the side. "I swear, Pina, sometimes it's as if you…"

The girl's words were abruptly interrupted by the roaring form of an ape-like mob, which jumped out of the trees without warning and slammed both its massive fists over the unsuspecting duo…

…or would have, if they hadn't jumped/flown backward at the same time, their eyes suddenly sharp even as Silica grabbed her 'dagger' without hesitation and, after jumping against a nearby tree, unleashed the 'Rapid Bite' Dagger Skill she had been charging since the moment she jumped, giving a critical hit to the mob's head and making it explode in polygons.

"…what a foolish beast, thinking he could get a kunoichi with a surprise attack." coolly declared the young girl while lowering her weapon.

"…kyu."

"I-I'm NOT trying to look cool for no reason! It is my Ninja Way to do things like this even if only you get to hear them!"

"Kyuuu!" admonished the dragon while flying up.

"YES, I know there are more of them!" shouted Silica for answer as she once again did an impressive backflip to evade the 2 new enemies, their charge hitting nothing as the self-proclaimed kunoichi and her small partner turned around. "I'm NOT blind, Pina!"

"Kyuuryuu!" answered the Familiar while unleashing a stream of bubbles from his maw. Despite the apparent silliness of the attack, the non-threatening-looking bubbles crashed against one of the apes and sent it rearing backward, with noticeable damage to his HP.

"Ok, ok, I will take the other one!" declared Silica while easily dodging the latest charge of the ape-mob and landing on a nearby tree, her hand flying towards a pouch on the back of her hips and returning fast as lighting with 3 small and 4-pointed metal stars, with a hole in the middle seemingly to allow the girl to grab them. As she wielded them in a fan-like position, they started to shine. "You crossed the wrong girl, monkey! Swallow Barrage!"

The blinking monster had enough time to look towards the tree before the 3 shurikens flew through the air in impossible arcs, one crashing directly against his face before the other two embedded themselves over his ribs. The creature quickly exploded into polygons even as the young girl and her partner landed at each other's side, their enemies finished.

"…kyuku kyuru, kyu?"

"…yes, I KNOW that Liz-san said that any shuriken I 'wasted' was coming straight from my part of the ingots' recollection, but I just HAD to use them!" retorted the 'proud' owner of the Unique Skill known as Shurikenjutsu, before touching the massive throwing star on her back with a soft smile. "Of course, I can't exactly blame her after she used 'her own trick' to make this jewel here…maybe I should try and do something nice for her next…"

A strange, rustling sound caught the girl's attention and her head snapped to the side in time for another, bigger ape-mob to appear from the trees. This one had silver fur, and it looked very mad. What called the attention about him the most, however, were the two HP Bars over his head, together with a clearly displayed name.

"'Alpha Silver Ape'? A Named Mob out of nowhere?" Silica's shock only grew, however, when the ape-creature looked at her and hit his own chest several times with his fists while roaring, causing a dozen of the previous 'Drunken Apes' to spawn around the clear. "Damn! It can call others?!" jumping backward, the kunoichi was barely able to evade the NM's attack before 4 of the others were upon her, not even her fully mastered Acrobatics Skill allowing her to dodge all the fists of the considerably big creatures. "GAH!"

"KYUU!" 'shouted' Pina with worry and rage even as he too tried to evade the enemies' attacks and counterattack.

"Dammit!" hastily landing on her feet, the young girl unleashed a barrage of her shurikens at the enemies surrounding her, the urgency of the gesture not letting her active a Skill with it, but the countless practice she had with the throwing weapons allowing her to hit the lowly mobs in critical points and make them stumble. "Okay, I will need to use it!" that said, the girl reached for the massive shuriken on her back…and was thrown back when the Named Mob rushed at her and slammed his fist against her side, making her lost the enormous throwing star and roll until crashing against a tree, a good chunk of her HP vanishing. "Kuh!...maybe I should have heard out Liz-san when she told me that making my stats almost fully based on agility and dexterity wasn't the best of ideas…"

That said, the girl's hand tried to reach for the fallen weapon…just for the shadow of the Alpha Silver Ape to get in her way. Eyes widening, the girl reached for her small kunai, a part of her knowing it was already too late for…

A screeching sound that may have been an attempt of a roar echoed through the virtual forest even as Pina interposed himself between his master and the attack, unleashing his own Bubble Breath in defiance. The first HP Bar of the Named Mob was reduced to the yellow.

Then both fists slammed on the feathery dragon and sent it flying through the air, crashing against the same tree Silica had done not long ago and then falling to the ground, not far from the wide-eyed girl.

"Pi…Pina…?" muttered the shocked kunoichi while reaching a hand towards the suddenly glowing Familiar.

"Ky…uuuu…"

"N-no…what are you saying…? Yo-you can't fall here…you won't die here! Yo-your Ninja Way is just beginning, like mine!" the crying girl managed to crawl towards her friend's side, any thought of recovering her weapon or of the quickly recovering mobs surrounding her forgotten. "Tha-that's why…don't give…!"

With a final, sad cry, Pina's body shattered into polygons, only a small, glowing feather remaining from the little dragon.

A dark silence suddenly covered the area as the girl STARED at what was left of her best friend, something dark and cold and sad burning inside of her eyes.

"I…will destroy you…" softly whispered Silica as her grip on her kunai tightened, her empty hand shooting towards her shuriken's pouch as she turned to stare with pure hate at the mobs surrounding her, the 5 throwing stars on her hand starting to shine. "GIVE ME PINA BACK, YOU FUCKING AP…!"

The girl's angry scream was cut short when, suddenly, every single mob surrounding her exploded into polygons as SOMETHING rushed past them.

Frozen and in utter shock, some tears of both rage and sadness still running down her face, the self-proclaimed kunoichi suddenly found herself face-to-face with a caped figure clad in white and black, worry filling his eyes.

"Hey…are you okay?" softly muttered Kirito while the girl fell down on her ass.

"…Yo-you…it's you…but Pina…"

Seeing the girl apparently losing herself in her own words, Kirito felt glad for the first time in the last 24 hours of not being back on the Front Lines with the others.

Really, it's not as if he was regretting his 'job' of 'playing hero for fun', no. It's just that, the past day, February 14th, the girls had been acting WEIRD around him, even if he wasn't exactly sure of WHY. When he had noticed that even Argo seemed to be fidgeting around him and then caught the pitying looks that Keita and the others were sending his way, though, a part of his brain had been smart enough to tell him that, if he didn't get the fuck out of there soon, things could get ugly for…some reason.

He wasn't one to argue with sudden voices in his head, so he had hastily made out an excuse about needing to investigate some strange rumors on the lower Floors and then ran away from Floor 58 as fast as he could.

Some may have called him a coward. He would have disagreed…even if he wasn't exactly sure of WHY.

Now, though, seeing the crying and clearly in shock little girl cradling what remained of her virtual pet, he was glad of having come down to a place as annoying as the Wandering Forest.

He just wished he had been a bit faster.

"…I'm sorry about your friend."

"I-it's no-not your fault, Kirito-san!" quickly shouted the girl while waving her arms, any attitude she had had until moments ago gone and replaced by the frantic pre-teen she really was. "Yo-you're always bu-busy being a He-hero for everyone, the me-mere fact that you came to sa-save me it's an honor alre…!"

"No, don't say that." quickly cut her the boy while shaking his head. He didn't even bother asking how the girl recognized him, he already knew that by this point there hardly was anyone on Aincrad that couldn't' do it on sight. Also, he didn't seem to notice how the young girl blushed at his gesture "Whatever else I do has nothing to do with the fact that I couldn't save your Familiar, Silica."

"I-I already told you that that's not…!...wait, uh?" the self-proclaimed kunoichi blinked several times, confused. "Di-did you just…? Yo-you…remember me?"

"Uhm, yeah?" the boy tilted his head, smiling softly to try and calm down the girl. "I recommended you to fight using a dagger back in Floor 1, right?"

Being honest, it had only been the fact that the strangely-dressed girl still kept her pigtails and that he hadn't seen any other player as young as her out of the Starting City EVER what had allowed the gamer to recognize her, but the boy thought it would be best not to mention that aloud.

Of course, he himself had no way of knowing that HE was also the main reason why the girl in front of him was even there in the first place.

After the shocking events that followed the 'defeat' of the 1st Floor Boss, both Lisbeth and Silica had been shocked at recognizing the description of the boy that was the center of the clash between negative and positive rumors, the one who was also apparently the 'Black-White Blur' which had created the 'hopeful and safe' atmosphere that had motivated both to leave the Starting City at the game's beginning.

Wondering if meeting the 'Hero' (No matter what others said back then, both girls considered him one already) had been some kind of 'sign', the young blacksmith and the small dagger-user had decided to travel together through the Death Game from then on. The fact that they had become good friends in the span of a day after chatting for hours had also helped.

Since then, both girls had been great friends and partners, helping each other as best as they could: Silica would go out to try and become stronger, to fight and do SOMETHING for the sake of getting out of the game, and Liz would use the items and ingots she got in the field to improve her blacksmithing Skills, which would, in turn, generate a bigger income for both of them. Occasionally, Lisbeth would go out to the field with Silica to level up, for even if not an active fighter the girl KNEW she needed the levels if she wished to keep her skills high enough to enhance and/or create weapons that could be used by the Front Liners. Things had gone smoothly for them with barely any change for most of the game, both female players relying on each other and enjoying their mutual company.

Of course, one thing had been clearly different between them, besides their playing-style: Their motivation.

While Lisbeth wanted to become a great blacksmith to be able to help everyone in a way that didn't involve fighting and that she was good at, Silica's will to fight, which had originally been a simple wish of not feeling helpless and scared, had changed as time went on. Since she knew of the identity of the mysterious boy in the 'heroic' costume she had seen that day on Tolbana.

Maybe because (In Liz's 'annoying' words) she was an impressionable little girl, the self-proclaimed kunoichi had felt 'special' because someone who was, and had continued showing being, SAO's greatest Hero had been the one to, sort of, start her on the path to fight for her freedom. She was also one of the few people that thought of Kirito as something beyond a 'simple' hero: She saw a SUPERHERO in him.

That was why her adoration for the boy grew with each new feat or epic achievement that people spread about him, always one of the firsts to defend him for those who badmouthed or insulted his exploits. Lisbeth said that she just had a big crush on the caped boy, but it wasn't that (Totally).

Silica saw the boy as a goal. An ideal. Someone who was an example that had to be followed. Someone who would do all that he could to help and save others, who would always try to reduce the burden of other's players, who would always go out of his way for those who were with him…it was something beautiful that made her soul burn with the fires of almost-childish wonder, a belief that most people lost as they grew up.

The Will to truly believe in Heroes.

And then, one day half a year ago, as if answering to her determination and wish to reach beyond, Shurikenjutsu had appeared on her menu for no apparent reason. When she went to show it to Liz in shock, both had been surprised to discover that, when Silica asked, the blacksmith was suddenly able to create a new type of weapon on her Blacksmithing Menu.

The classic and deadly Japanese throwing stars, used by Ninjas on the country's old times and also in most media. Shurikens. A few tries proved not only that Lisbeth could no longer create them if the younger girl wasn't close, but also that, even if the quality of the shurikens and the number (More than one came from a single ingot) changed with the type of ingot used, the variety was inferior to those of most weapons, and they vanished after a direct use.

Despite that, when Silica started trying out the difficult to execute but deadly and fast Skills that could only be used with the throwing weapons and by her alone, they proved that mass-production was worth it. Things like making a 'pouch' for the girl to have quick access to them was, surprisingly, fairly easy.

Taking all of this as yet another signal, Silica had decided to dedicate herself fully to the supposed 'path' that the game was showing her, and had declared proudly that she would become a ninja herself.

Liz open laugh when she had first declared it had changed from an annoying memory to a prideful one, when he recalled how that laughter had turned into open-mouthed amazement when she mastered both her Unique Skill and the Acrobatics Skill, showing how far she had gotten. Combined with how she had used most of her Stat Points in her never-ending training to improve her agility, dexterity and a bit of attack, all to be able to 'move and fight like a ninja', the girl had felt more excited than never before in her life. Getting the proper 'costume' hadn't been hard either, because apparently there was a certain guild of ninjas wannabes that didn't really have that much impact on the Frontlines but were really dedicated and it had only taken some asking around to know what kind of equipment would suit her.

A month after that, she Tamed Pina, and her excitement only grew. After all, wasn't it common for ninjas to have loyal animal companions to aid them in several stories?

When some months later a disbelieving Liz had stared at how the latest 'dagger' she had made for her young friend had taken the form of an honest-to-God tri-pronged KUNAI, Silica had been surer than ever that she had been right about her 'destiny'. It was Fate that she went down the Ninja Way, as she had started to call it countless times (Much to her friend's annoyance).

Then, just when she was finishing mastering Shurikenjutsu, Lisbeth had suddenly obtained THAT. It almost seemed a thing of Fate again, because she had just noticed, after getting past the 900 points of Mastery of her Unique Skill, that she needed a 'new weapon' to execute the strongest ones, which had once again been available for the blacksmith to forge when she was around.

Eager to help her friend test her new 'ability', she had gone around and gotten the strongest Ingot she could find, a Diamond one, and Lisbeth had tried THAT out while combining it with her blacksmith's ability.

The result was the massive shuriken that now lay half a meter from her, and that she always proudly carried on her back. The best weapon the now pink-haired girl had ever made.

She had Mastered Shurikenjutsu a month after getting it and had proudly declared herself as a full-fledged kunoichi.

Still, she had been a bit worried for Liz lately. Since then, she barely had seen her using THAT outside of apparently training to master it, and she didn't seem to have used it to forge any other thing ei…

"…ca? Silica? You okay?" Kirito waved a gloved hand in front of the pigtailed girl's face.

"Eh?" dumbly answered the self-proclaimed kunoichi while coming out of her reminiscence, in which her brain had sunk into in hopes of not having her acting like a little girl meeting her favorite TV character…which was kind of how she was feeling, to be honest.

"Sorry, I know you must still be in a bit of shock, but I said that there may be a way to save your friend…"

At the boy's words, the girl's eyes widened as she looked once again at the feather on her hand, just remembering that yes, she had just lost her beloved friend and trusted companion. The returning feelings of sadness and despair, however, were crushed the moment the Hero's words registered on her ears.

"E-eh?! There is a way to bring Pina back?!" more nimble than a cat, the girl was back on her feet and hanging from the surprised Kirito's neck in an instant, desperation in her eyes. "How?!"

"A-ah, well, I'm not really sure of it, but a friend of mine that specializes in information says that there supposedly is a Quest on Floor 47th that allows one to resurrect Tamed Monsters that have died, but she hasn't been able to check it out since there are almost no Beast Tamers on SAO…"

"Really?!"

"Uhm, yes…have you checked out that feather? It should be an item that only you can interact with…" nodding in understanding, the girl let go of the boy (Quickly turning around to not let him see her face burn after realizing how she had been holding on him) and touched the small glowing feather, which deployed a window announcing its name: Pina's Heart. "See? You apparently have a time limit of a couple of days before it turns into 'Remains'. Apparently, if you get the item, some flower that only blooms on the 'Hill of Memories', and use it on the 'Heart' before that happens the Tamed Monster will revive…"

Hope and stars suddenly seemed to fill the girl's eyes even as she ran and grabbed her massive shuriken, hanging it from her back before sending a grateful smile the boy's way.

"Thanks a lot, Kirito-san; you have given me my Hope back! I WILL save Pina!" fire once again burning on her gaze, the girl clenched a fist while looking to the havens, her scarf flapping dramatically under a sudden gust of virtual wind. "Don't worry Pina! I swear on my Ninja Way that I will bring you back to life, even if I have to descend to the pits of Yomi to save you! So swears Silica, Aincrad's greatest (Only) kunoichi!"

"…ehm, hey…" the suddenly sweatdropping boy called Silica's attention, who blinked and looked at him. "Pina…wouldn't be a 'dragon', by any chance, right?"

"Ah! As expected of Aincrad's superhero, Kirito-san knows many things!" happily nodded the girl while accidentally letting her pigtails bop up and down in an extremely cute way, contrasting harshly with how she had been acting a second ago. "Yes, Pina is a Feathered Little Dragon! Why?"

The boy clad in white and black blinked and STARED. He looked from the girl's equipment to the kunai on her hip and then at the massive throwing star on her back. He blinked again.

When he had first heard Argo talking about the rumors, he had given them a bit more of attention than the info broker had, because let's face it, with the kind of madness that had been going around on his life lately, that a 'true ninja' (Unlike those idiots of the Fumasomething guild) appeared wouldn't have really surprised him much.

Still, when he had heard about the 'Ninja who controlled a dragon', he had been expecting some sinister-looking weirdo (Kind of like Sonic had been in One Punch-Man) carrying a Nodachi and with a massive, fire-breathing and scale-covered beast of destruction at his side…not a loli that seemed to be cosplaying accompanied by a small cute thing that could throw bubbles out of its mouth…and that now seemed to be blushing and looking to the side for some reason…

"Ahm…eh…Kirito-san? Uhm…could you please not stare at me so much?" bashfully muttered the kunoichi while looking to the side and playing with the edges of her 'ninja uniform'. "It's embarrassing…"

"Ah?! O-OH! Sorry, sorry, I wasn't looking…I mean, I was, but not that…!" quickly shaking his hands, the boy realizing that he pretty much had looked as if he was checking the young girl out, Kirito shook his head before coughing hard on his hand and looking back at the monsterless Tamer with a serious look, intent on letting the last scene out of his mind. "I-I wanted to say that, if you want, I will help you go to revive your friend."

"REALLY?!" the young girl clearly didn't scream with an extremely high-pitched voice and shiny eyes…or so she told herself.

"…yeah. I mean, I would feel kind of bad if I let you go alone after not being able to save your friend in time." muttered the boy while trying to not pay attention to the girl's reaction. "Also, it's kind of late already, and I don't know about you but going through this forest is very tiring (For the mind), so how about we rest tonight on the nearest town and go to Floor 47 tomorrow?"

"A-ah, yeah, I got no problem with that!" quickly nodded the young girl before looking to the side, embarrassed. "Bu-but…I do-don't know where the exit is."

"Me neither." cheerfully admitted the boy, making Silica look at him in shock. "But I have an easy way of solving that."

"Ho-how?"

Smiling softly, the boy offered a hand towards the girl.

"Grab tight."

Thirty seconds later, the self-proclaimed kunoichi was screaming her lungs out in excitement and wonder, she and the boy soaring through the air after he had grabbed her and JUMPED out of the forest, the 35th Floor seeming incredibly far as they speared through the air.

"THIS. IS. AMAZING!"

"It gets old after a couple hundred of times, to be honest…" muttered the boy while looking awkwardly at the young girl holding on his side (He having a hand around her shoulders). "Though I accept that it's pretty cool the first time."

"Yo-you move like this all the time…" whispered the girl in awe before blinking. "Wait…how are we going to land?"

"Ah…that's why I told you to grab tight." sheepishly grinned the gamer even as they started to fall, Silica screaming once again but for very different reasons.

At least it was a beautiful night for an earth-shaking fall on a field.

𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬

Kirito sighed as he closed his menu, staring for a moment out of the window of the Inn where he and Silica had decided to stay for the night before crossing his arms.

He had just finished sending a message to the others to tell them that he had to help someone and thus wouldn't be returning yet, at which they had reassured him that everything was alright but that he shouldn't forget they needed him on the Frontline as soon as he could.

He didn't need to be told twice about that, though. Lately, he had discovered that he really hated being away from his friends for too long. It was a strange but welcome feeling, that of having so many people that cared for you and that you cared for in return. Thinking that sent a small wave of depression through him once again at remembering how he had been with his family the last 4 years before getting trapped in SAO. It made him think of Sugu again.

Sugu…if he was honest with himself, she was, in a way, the main reason why he had stayed to help Silica. After all, the girl, despite her looks, was clearly very capable and strong, and he had no doubt that she would easily be able to get the item to resurrect her pet…but, when he saw her crying on the ground before, it had reminded him so much of how Sugu looked when she was little and something made her extremely sad, and he had been unable to NOT help to see that the girl managed to recover her friend without problems.

With another soft look towards the ceiling, the boy promised himself once again that he would get himself and everyone else out of the game as soon as possible.

He was more than a year and two months late for sharing that ice cream with Sugu, after all. He was really hoping it didn't arrive at two whole…

Suddenly tensing, the boy's eyes shot toward the window…finding nothing outside of it.

"…okay, this is starting to get creepy. I have been feeling as if someone is watching me more times than I can count these last two months…" shaking his head, the boy stood up, intent on going to check up on Silica and talk about how they would go the Floor 47 tomorrow. "Maybe the others are right and I'm becoming paranoid…with all the madness going around in my life and now that group of lunatics, Something Coffin, that says they're going to be 'the Villains' of the world, it wouldn't be weird…"

Even as the boy kept monologuing and walking away, he never noticed how two heads, one of long black hair and the other of short lilac one, suddenly peeked through his window…which was in the Inn's second floor.

Exchanging a curious/determined stare, the two AIs (Currently floating thanks to the 'powers' of the younger-looking one) nodded at each other, before vanishing from view to continue their silent stalk…uhm, 'watching over' the curious boy.

Meanwhile, on her own room, an underwear-clad Silica sighed as she nervously sat on her bed, unable to sleep because of a mix of worry for her loyal partner's fate and that her Hero was just in the room in front of her, and that he was going to go with HER to save Pina.

It was almost like something out of her wildest fantasies…! …not that she had wild fantasies, of course. She wasn't a little kid, she was full-fledged kunoichi!

"…hauuu…I'm so nervous…" muttered the pigtailed girl while absentmindedly playing with four shurikens on her right hand, a habit that she had developed and that would be very dangerous if this wasn't a virtual world. "Mou, I wish Pina was here…he always knows exactly what to say when I'm nervo…"

"Silica-chan? Can I come in?" came Kirito's voice from the other side of the room, making the girl squeal and jump out of the bed, then squeaking again and doing several backflips to catch the falling shurikens before they crashed at the ground. "Silica?! Is something wrong?!"

"N-no, don't worry, I'm fine!" screamed the young girl in response before running at the door and opening it, panting but trying to put on a 'calm and cool' smile to hid the stupid thing that she had just done, even as she waved the hand with the shurikens in front of herself. "See? Everything is perfect!"

"…"

"…uh? Kirito-san?" blinking in confusion at noticing how the boy's cheeks reddened and he took a step backward, Silica took a confused step back too. "I-it's something wrong…?"

"Si-Silica-chan…yo-your…clothes…" managed to mutter the gamer while covering his face with a hand and looking to the side.

Confused, the kunoichi looked down at herself.

At her petite and underwear-clad self

Two seconds of dreadful silence passed…before Silica released a scream that would have shattered all glasses on the town if they weren't Immortal Objects, making Kirito jump back in shock even as she wildly moved back her hand and threw the now shining 4 shurikens at the boy, who watched wide-eyed as they flew on a bird-like pattern at him before one crashed against his chest as the other three separated and blew to his arms and face.

It was SO unexpected and surprising that the boy actually ended up on the ground, facing the ceiling and blinking, though unharmed, even as he heard the sound of a door slamming closed, followed by another squeak/scream after some seconds.

Kirito quickly reached a conclusion.

"I will talk to her when we get out in the morning."

𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬

𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟲, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. 𝟰𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿, 𝟭𝟬:𝟰𝟱…

The sun was shining and the birds were singing in the beautiful place that was Aincrad's 47th Floor. Almost every part of it, from the main city of Floria to the edges of the Floor, was covered by bright and colorful flowers.

In essence, it was one of those places that made one question Kayaba Akihiko's sanity when deciding to trap people in a virtual world where they would die if they weren't strong enough.

After all, WHY the hell would such a world need places like THIS almost halfway to the top?!

Those were the kind of thoughts that ran through Kirito's mind every time he visited a Floor like this…though right now his thoughts were on looking sheepishly at his still-embarrassed companion, who refused to meet his eyes as she looked everywhere but at him, her cheeks burning red.

The fact that doing that that only made her clearly notice the 'nature' of the Floor as the favorite place in Aincrad for couples to get all lovey-dovey didn't help at all. She was just glad of having been able to come out with an excuse for Liz the night before to justify her 'delay' in going back.

"𝐽𝑢-𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒…ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒…𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟…𝐼-𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒!" shaking her head to stop steam coming out of it, Silica tried to banish those thoughts out of her mind. "𝑁-𝑛𝑜! 𝐷𝑜-𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑦, 𝑆𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ! 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑟𝑜-𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚! 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑁𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑎 𝑊𝑎𝑦, 𝑛𝑜-𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙…!"

"Hey, Silica, can I ask you something?"

"Ha-hai, Kirito-san?!" squeaked the girl in response while looking at her with swirling eyes, her mind quickly going into overdrive. "𝑊ℎ𝑎-𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑠𝑘?! 𝑀𝑎-𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑒…? 𝐴𝐻𝐻𝐻! 𝐷𝑎𝑚𝑛 𝐿𝑖𝑧 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑!" the self-proclaimed kunoichi grabbed the sides of her head while uselessly trying to calm down. "𝐼-𝐼'𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑡…!"

"Uhm, what was that you did with the shurikens yesterday?" asked the black-haired boy with honest curiosity, freezing the girl on the spot and making her blink. "I have never seen anyone do something like that…in fact, now that I think about it, I have never even SEEN anyone in SAO having shurikens, period. Not even those weirdoes from the Fumasomething guild…"

"O-oh! Tha-that's what you wanted to ask, ahahahah!" Kirito looked confused when he saw a mix of relief and…disappointment? on the girl's eyes. "We-well, to be honest, I'm not really sure myself…the Skill to use them, Shurikenjutsu, appeared on my menu one day, and, after that, a blacksmith friend of mine became able to create them when I'm around, so…"

"Wait, really?" asked the boy with obvious shock before putting a hand on his chin, seeming deep in thought. "But that would mean…another one? Seriously? Why do I keep encountering them? And just how many of those are…?"

"Eh? Ki-Kirito-san, what are you talking about…?"

"Oh, nothing concrete, Silica. It's just something that has been on my mind lately, but you see, I think that you're most likely the only person on all of SAO with that Skill…" at the girl's shocked gaze, the boy could only nod and continue his explanation. "Well, it's a theory of mine, but some, let's say it, 'weird' Skills that no one else has or seems to have ever heard about have been showing around. I don't have any definitive proof yet, but I think that these 'Unique Skills' may have a deeper meaning in all of this…"

"S-so, does that mean that I'm like, a chosen or something…?" asked the young girl with an almost childish shine on her eyes, looking at him as if his words were those of God.

"U-uh?! We-well, I'm not sure, as I said, I don't have any real proof of this yet, but seeing as how these Skills seem to go SO AGAINST the usual ones of SAO, almost as if they were meant to fight greater threats, then I can only assume so…"

"𝐼-𝐼'𝑚 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙! 𝐴𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑑'𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑆𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡!" Silica's mind was clearly going into overdrive as she unsuccessfully tried to keep her more eager side at bay. "𝐼 𝑛𝑒-𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑢𝑝 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛! 𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼'𝑚 𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑦 𝑘𝑢𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑖 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑢!"

Ignoring how she probably was nodding to herself and making small gestures with her hands while her thoughts echoed, the young girl started to walk faster and letting the pondering boy behind, who blinked and looked at her…only for his eyes to widen.

"Silica, watch out!"

"E-eh?" blinked he kunoichi before the growling form of some sort of carnivore plant mob rose from the flowers in front of her, extending its deadly tentacles towards her unprotected…"KYA!"

"Don't worry, I will…!" Kirito hadn't even finished his sentence when a shout of 'Direct Flare!' came accompanied for a shuriken shooting through the air and destroying the plant's 'head', making its body explode into polygons just as the tendrils were about to coil around the pale Silica. "…uhm, good job…you okay?"

"Ye-yes…I'm okay…" muttered the young girl while shivering before taking a step back and putting herself closer to the gamer's body. "God, I HATE those things so much…why do they always attack with the tentacles first…?"

More explanations weren't needed for the boy to understand the kunoichi's apparent fears. After all, both of them were Japanese.

"…that's just another of the things that make me realize that Kayaba must have been REALLY fucked up on the head when he designed this game…"

Meanwhile, on the Knights of Blood HQ, Heathcliff sneezed for the 3rd time that day, wondering why the hell that had been happening so much since he woke up that morning.

𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬

"Well…that wasn't really difficult, uh?" commented Silica with a mix of relief, disappointment, and confusion.

She had been ready to face anything from a horde of enemies to a Sub-Boss, but aside from the occasional plant monster with tentacles (Cue shiver), the only thing they had done was walk up to the Hill of Memories, then grab the beautiful Pneuma Flower, which now rested on her inventory, and that had been all.

The only reason why she hadn't immediately resurrected Pina was that Kirito had told her that he wasn't quite sure of how the process would go and that it would be safer to try and do it on a Safe Zone.

"Now that you said it…you're right. With how absurdly difficult is to Tame a monster in SAO, one would think that they would make the Quest to resurrect a dead one much more difficult than just…grabbing a flower." answered the caped boy while tilting his head. "I'm not sure if I can blame that on Kayaba's weirdness or in the Cardinal System doing another senseless thing, though."

"The…what?"

"Oh, you may not know if you didn't know much about the game before getting stuck here, but Cardinal is the name of the main system that runs all the things in SAO, from the servers' maintenance to the creation of new Quests." Kirito's frown grew after saying the last thing. "…it's also what has us trapped here thanks to Kayaba, though."

"Wah, I didn't know that…but why do you say it can do senseless things?"

"Because…." the boy suppressed a shiver, remembering Argo's screams of terror echoing on his ears as the girl clamped to him for dear life while swinging her torch around, even as he tried to punch for the tall and slender abomination for the tenth time. "…let's just say that I know it and leave it at that, okay?"

"O-okay…" some awkward seconds of silence passed before the young girl gathered her courage and looked up towards the Hero. "Kirito-san…thanks."

"Eh? Well, it's not as if I really did much. I mean, you took care of most of those plant monsters before I even noticed the…"

"No, what I mean is, thanks for everything! Fo-for telling me how to save Pina, for keeping me company to save him…and for always being around helping others and giving hope to everyone else." Silica's eyes shone with gratitude as she directed a bright smile at the black-haired boy. "So, for all of that…thanks."

Kirito blinked, shocked, before a soft smile appeared on his face even as a warm feeling spread across his chest.

When had been the last time, that anyone had said 'Thanks' to him?

Certainly, his friends congratulated and praised him all the time (Well, Argo preferred trolling him most of the time, but she also had a sweet side), and nowadays very few people still hated him or called him 'Beater' (The number has considerably decreased since Kibaou's death, for some mysterious reason), so one could say that he was pretty much happy and content with everything around…

But those small words…A simple, almost childish 'Thank you'…it was something that people never actually said, maybe thinking it was implied or not really thinking it was needed.

For some people, though, actually saying it could make a world of difference.

The last time anyone had truly said 'Thank you' to him face-to-face a long time ago, and it had been, again, Sugu. Years before he knew he was adopted, when she almost drowned on the pond and he saved her, when they stopped crying and hugging and after their parents took care of seeing that her adoptive sister was okay…

There, lying on her bed and smiling, the by then little girl had given him her thanks. He remembered feeling really happy, though not as much as how knowing that she was okay made him feel.

"No Silica…" Kirito put a hand on the girl's head, patting it, and she had to use every ounce of her Ninja-Willpower to not squeak in happy delight, her cheeks blushing again. "Thank YOU for that."

"Ki-Kirito-san…I…"

"Awww, isn't this a sweet moment? Is making me SICK."

The unexpected voice made the confused duo blink and turn around, in time to see a red-haired woman walking out of the trees with a lance on hand and looking at them with an annoyed smirk.

"Ah, you're that weird and annoying woman from yesterday!" shouted Silica while pointing at the newcomer, whose eyebrow started to twitch at the words. "What was your name? Rose…something?"

"It's ROSALIA, you fucking brat!" spat the woman while angrily pointing her spear at Silica. "But enough about that! You're going to hand over that Pneuma Flower, little girl!"

"And WHY would she need to do that?" challenged Kirito before the woman smirked and a group of Orange Players emerged from the trees around her, all of them with their weapons drawn.

"She will or else you both shall face the might of my Guild, Titan's Hand!"

"…who?" muttered Silica in confusion while looking at the caped boy, ignoring the angry looks she received for that.

"Titan's Hand…?" making some clear effort, Kirito's eyes suddenly opened in understanding as he hit his open palm with a fist. "AH! I remember now, you're a group of thieving idiots who tried attacking the Silver Flags' guild the other day!"

Frankly, the boy only remembered that because Argo and Sachi had told everyone the other day when they had stopped to have lunch on the Frontline. Apparently, both girls had been there giving some date-related info to one of the guild's members when the Orange Guild had attacked to try and steal all that they could from the very small guild of Mid-Liners. They obviously hadn't expected her to be there, of course. Neither that she had brought the user of 'Infinite Spear' with her.

In the end, even as Sachi hesitated in continuing kicking their asses, the group of losers had been forced to run away with their lives on the yellow and not having managed to steal anything. Both Front Liners had tried to give chase, but it seemed that, at least, the Orange Guild was good at running away, and they had been forced to just return to the Front Lines after giving the thankful Guild advice to try and stay in Safe Zones for a time until someone caught those idiots.

He hadn't been paying much attention, too worried thinking about other things, and, as such, it was a total surprise seeing that the same group of nobodies had just so happened to be trying to rob the ninja girl he had befriended.

Life really sucked for some people, even if the idiots didn't seem to realize it yet.

"Wha...?! How the hell do you know that?!" angrily asked Rosalia while glaring at the boy, even as several of her followers suddenly LOOKED at Kirito and exchanged uneasy glances.

"He-hey, boss..." gulped one of the Orange Players while catching the woman's attention. "Sa-say...don't you think that guy is...'familiar'?"

"Uh? What do you mean?" countered Rosalia while scowling at him. "I'm pretty sure I would remember if I had ever met a kid cosplaying as a Superman rip-off..."

Kirito felt one of his eyebrows twitch at that. Yeah, maybe Saitama wasn't nearly as known as the American superhero, but for someone to say THAT about him was...

"Tha-that's exactly what I am saying!" muttered the man in panic while pointing at the caped boy. "Black hair, black jumpsuit, white cape...he mu-must be Kirito, the Black-White Blur!"

Now it was Silica's eyebrows turn to twitch, her eyes slowly looking towards the man who had said that.

"What? C'mon, don't tell me you ACTUALLY believe in those rumors!" snorted Rosalia while waving a hand dismissively.

Her attitude could be explained because, despite having been trapped in the game for more than a year, there was STILL a small number people that didn't believe in Kirito's existence, or at least as the 'Superhero' that ran around the game. Though these were mainly the most bitter and hopeless of people that, despite it all, still refused to leave the Starting City, a very small bit of people that were out were like this too. They were mainly low or mid-level thieves like this group, that had 'started the game' several months after the 1st Floor was cleared, and as such never got to 'see' the Black-White Blur by themselves. When you combined that with their despicable intentions of taking advantage of other players to have an 'easy life' and their utter denial about most of the things that happened in the Front Lines, you got people like Rosalia.

So, in essence, someone who didn't know how SCREWED they were.

"We have a little girl and a boy dressed as a clown as the only things between us and an extremely-rare item and you are scared because of some impossible rumor that those idiots risking their lives on the upper Floors invented to make the idiots down here feel 'safe'? Yeah, as if!" no longer looking at the man that had spoken, the red-haired criminal grinned before pointing at the silent duo. "It's your last chance, kids! You can either give up the flower or receive a severe beating! So, what's going to be?"

For all answer...Kirito slowly started to walk forward, looking at the members of Titan's Hand with utter boredom.

"...okay then, if that what you wish..." Rosalia suppressed the strange shiver that ran down her spine as she said that, even as the boy stopped in the middle of the bridge. "GET HIM!"

There was just a brief moment of hesitation before the group of men roared and raised their various weapons, charging Sword Skills as they ran towards the boy, ready to...

There was a 'rush' of air. Something very difficult to describe or understand.

What was clear, though, was that one second the group of Orange Players was running and the next they were frozen in place, half of them looking at how their weapons broke into polygons while the others had them impaling the ground near their feet.

Arms crossed and STARING at them, Kirito didn't appear to have moved at all.

And yet, for a moment, all the present could have sworn that they saw an unnatural 'change' happen to him: His silly costume suddenly seeming extremely epic, his scrawny form suddenly filled with toned muscles, his face a carpet of darkness with two voids of white instead of eyes...

"So then...are you going to calmly follow me to prison?" simply asked the boy, the 'illusion' breaking down and letting the blinking players see him exactly as his apparently non-threatening and silly-looking self was. "I'm sorry to say it, but you all are going to be locked down in the Black Iron Castle..."

"Wha-what the fucking hell?!" screamed Rosalia while taking a step back.

"I-I KNEW IT!"

"O-oh shit, you mean he's the real deal?!"

"I-I heard that this bastard can bring down freaking Bosses by himself! W-we're doomed!"

"Le-let's run! I will be dammed if I let a fucking cheating kid to catch m...!"

𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛!

Everyone, even Kirito, blinked, looking at the player that had suddenly stopped talking, confused. Said guy was looking at his arm, with which he had been pointing at Kirito,...had been.

Only empty space and the red-polygonal view of virtual 'flesh' cut open were visible there.

The gaping player was just starting to realize what had happened as the numb feeling of non-pain ran through his mind when the guy at his side, who had been trying to reach for his impaled weapon, fell down on his face, shocked.

Both his legs fell away behind him, exploding into polygons.

The crimson-shining and massive star of death managed to chop off the arms of two more guys before the now screaming players realized what was happening and backed away, futilely now that the spinning weapon was returning to its user's hand.

With a simple, clearly practiced move, Silica caught the enormous form of the Fuuma Shuriken, the 'Beheading Star', as casually as someone would catch a ball.

A wicked aura seemed to surround the self-proclaimed kunoichi even as her scarf flapped around and she SMILED at the pale form of the Orange Guild, the unharmed members apparently not willing to help the one who had lost his legs even as the armless ones kept screaming their heads out like idiots while grabbing what remained of their missing limbs with their entire ones, as if they were really in an ungodly amount of pain...which they weren't in, because, you know, videogame.

Kirito, for his part, just looked open-mouthed at the young girl. Yeah, he knew from the Beta that it was possible to inflict the 'Amputated' Negative Status on other players (It took a good while for the limbs to regenerate even if you recovered your HP), but he had never seen any Skill able to so effortlessly inflict what was, arguably, the worst status effect in Sword Art Online.

Certainly, originally from the Beta Testers, that opinion had quickly changed since SAO became a Death Game. After all, both 'Poisoned' and 'Paralyzed' were much worse and deadly statuses to suffer in the middle of a fight for your life than the temporal loss of a limb when you couldn't feel any pain. It didn't even count as an especially critical hit to the HP, and even the members of Titan's Hand currently affected still had more than half of theirs, only the guy on the ground actually on the yellow.

Of course, this opinion came, most of the time, from people that hadn't actually suffered said Negative Status. Despite the lack of pain, the feeling of suddenly being missing a limb was REALLY scary, and the reaction to it could vary from extreme discomfort to outright panic attacks. The black-haired may not have been an expert, but even he knew enough to know that the feeling of losing a limb in SAO was drastically different than in the real world.

After all, someone who truly lost a limb in real life would, at first, still feel a 'phantom' existence of it, the brain telling the person that the limb was still there and terrifying them by trying to move something that wasn't there anymore.

In Aincrad, if you lost a limb you became immediately UNABLE to feel it until it came back. That was, in its own way, much more terrifying.

In the Beta, they never arrived far enough to fight monsters that could inflict the Status easily, but Kirito had chopped his own share of arms and lost a few of his own in Duels during those times. As such, he had a pretty good idea of how the Orange Players must have been feeling right then.

Still, this was truly his first time seeing someone losing LEGS. And the scarier part wasn't even that or how nonchalantly the sweet girl he had been accompanied had done so, but the SMILE she had right then.

He recognized it because he had seen it in Sugu's face more than once in the distant past of their childhood, just before she 'punished' him with tickles when he had done something 'stupid'.

It was the face of a woman that was REALLY pissed.

"So then…first you try to come and deny me the chance of saving Pina, my trusted friend (As pathetically as you have failed in that). Then, you go out of your way to insult and look down on me…but above all that…you DARE to say the same about Kirito-san…?" the girl's eyes opened, just the bright and happy orbs of a 13-years-old girl. They still made the men there feel the need to run away screaming even as the legless one started to drag himself through the ground as fast as he could. "My Ninja Way declares that to be…Unforgivable."

"Re-retreat!" shouted Rosalia, finally aware that she had tried to bit more than she could chew. "We need to get the fuck out of…!"

"You WON'T escape." declared Silica before jumping high and once again letting the crimson glow envelop her Fuuma Shuriken, releasing the deadly weapon to fly free through the air. "HELL'S BUTTERFLY!"

The Shurikenjutsu Sword Skill once again flew true, and Kirito watched with disturbed awe how many of the running men lost their legs before the chaotic arc of the massive throwing star reversed and chopped off the frozen Rosalia's right arm, her spear falling to the ground even as Silica easily caught her weapon once again.

"M-MY ARM!"

"You cannot escape from a kunoichi's judgment." quietly declared the girl while calmly putting her weapon on her back again.

"…that was cool." muttered Kirito while more screams started coming from the scared-shitless members of Titan's Hand, those that hadn't lost their legs already kneeling on the ground and asking for mercy. "A bit disturbing, but really cool."

"A-ahah, tha-thanks for saying that, Kirito-san…" happily laughed Silica while scratching the back of her head, blushing again.

"Ugh…I'm NOT getting trapped today! Goodbye, idiots!" Rosalia's sudden declaration made the duo turn around in time to see her raising her remaining hand; a Teleport Crystal gripped on it. "Teleport, Alga…!"

"Okami no Kiba (Wolf's Fang)." echoed a calm voice before 'something' cut through the air at an incomprehensible speed.

Only Kirito was able to properly hear a katana being unsheathed and see a shining blade cutting through the air in a direct slash before the girl was suddenly THERE, standing behind Rosalia with her back to the wide-eyed criminal, the katana on her hand pointing softly to the side.

The gaping woman finished her words, but nothing happened, given that the Teleport Crystal was already flying away several meters through the air, together with her vanishing left arm.

"…𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺?" Kirito couldn't help but think while sweatdropping.

The now armless red-head could only numbly fall to her knees while shivering, her eyes shooting at her 20% of HP remaining while she breathed hard.

"There is no escape for those of dark heart. Repent for your sins." quietly whispered the orange-haired newcomer before turning around to face the other two, her eyes lingering for a moment on the boy in black before looking at the scowling Silica and nodding to her. "Ninja."

"Ronin (Masterless Samurai)." she acknowledged with another nod, a small pout on her face. "You didn't need to intervene, you know, Philia-san?"

"Perhaps. But then you would have let this woman escape…" the now identified Philia declared while looking down at the shivering Rosalia, who refused to meet her gaze. "…or maybe not, seeing WHO is with you…" softly added the girl as she sheathed her katana once again.

"…I take it you know each other?" questioned Kirito while never taking his eyes off the new girl, his gaze flickering from the dagger on her side to the katana she carried on her other hip. "𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘐𝘕𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘌 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩…𝘯𝘰 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦…? 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴?! 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘢-𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘺!"

"Kind of…" muttered Silica while walking closer to the boy, a hand near her shuriken pouch in case any of the defeated guild-members tried something. "We have met a couple of times while I go around training." once again facing Philia, something akin to curiosity filled the young girl's eyes. "Tell me…are you still searching for a goal to accomplish?"

"…maybe. Maybe I already found it, who knows?" with those cryptic words, the girl started to walk away. "You should probably call the Aincrad Liberation Force to take care of them. Even with the two of you, transporting them all to the 1st Floor without teleportation is going to be too difficult."

"Ah, wait!" the girl stopped for a moment and looked back at Kirito, who seemed conflicted for a moment before he simply nodded at her. "Thanks for your help."

"…you're welcome…Kirito." whispered the 'Ronin' before walking away.

"…weird girl, uh?" commented Silica while they saw her walking away

"I…am not sure of that." responded the boy clad in black and white while looking at the disappearing form of the girl. "…on the other hand, we should probably call someone to take care of them, like she said."

"Oh, yeah, but…how do we do that without risking them escaping?" worriedly muttered the kunoichi while looking around.

"Don't worry about that." answered Kirito while quickly sending a message. "I know someone who can put me in contact with the leader of the Aincrad Liberation Force in no time."´

Less than 20 minutes later, a group of Diavel's men would come and gather the criminals to be taken. Kirito would make a comment about how the 'Knight' was at least still keeping things together on the lower floors despite barely showing up on the Front Lines anymore while Silica watched in awe.

But meanwhile, the girl known as Philia had suddenly stopped after crossing a couple of flowery hills and was currently blinking before an unusual sight.

Two girls, one that looked no older than 8 and was FLOATING in mid-air and another that seemed to be dressed with equipment specially designed to show off her very developed figure while she effortlessly moved a Two-Handed sword with ONE hand, were waiting for her under the shadows of some trees.

The younger girl smiled while looking at her.

"Hi there, owner of the Unique Skill 'Battoujutsu'." greeted Yui while waving at the surprised girl, Strea jumping from feet to feet as she looked between her 'older sister' and the newcomer. "Say, are you searching for traveling companions?"

And like that, the Wheel of Fate continues spinning forward…

𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬

"Well…this is it." said Kirito some hours later, looking at the young girl in front of him, a small blue dragon on her head. "It was good meeting you, Silica. Hope we can see each other again."

"Ye-yeah, same here, Kirito-san!" quickly nodded the girl before looking down again, trying to not let her disappointment shown on her face. "I-I'm sure my Ninja Way will someday cross our paths again!"

"Kyuu…"

"Shu-shut up, Pina!" shaking her head, the girl noticed the boy's confused expression before laughing awkwardly. "Pi-Pina says that he's glad you helped bring him back!"

"I…see." muttered the black-haired boy before smiling again and patting the dragon's head, making it purr in delight. "I'm also glad of having helped you, little one, even if I didn't really do much."

"We-well…see you next time?" hopefully muttered the kunoichi, absolutely not jealous of how her familiar was being petted and not her…or so she told herself.

"Yeah, you bet. I will add you to my friend list." the boy gave her one last smile before starting to walk away. "Who knows, we may even see each other in the Front Lines some time!"

And after saying that, he was gone, in a blur of speed, leaving the young girl still waving at him on the gates of Floria.

"…Pina, our Ninja Way just changed." calmly informed Silica before clenching a fist and pointing at the sky. "We're going to level up like crazy till we're fully capable of fighting in the Front Lines!"

"…kyuu, kyuuku."

"N-no, I'm NOT acting like a love-struck little girl!" retorted the blushing kunoichi while trying to glare upwards at the dragon on her head. "I-I just want to help out more, and my Unique Skill will be more useful there! Kirito-san himself said so!"

"Kyuuuryu."

"Wha-what do you mean with 'Whatever'?! Pinaaaa! You're SO mean!"

And with those words echoing through the 47th Floor, Silica and her resurrected friend finally started their journey back to meet with her friend Lisbeth.

Two weeks later, after finishing selling the last lot of the Ingots that the girl got, the official 'Lisbeth's Smith Shop' would finally open.

But that's a story for another time…

𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬𝟬

𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗗𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪!

"Ahh…Kirito-san…eh? KYA! U-uhm, hello, everyone, this is Silica, Aincrad's greatest kunoichi, ready to give you the preview for the next chapter! Also, I WILL become stronger and fight at Kirito-san's side soon, you will see!...wha…?! Shut up, Pina, that's NOT true!...ahahah, etto…Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer': Interlude 'Wings of Justice!' While Kirito and everyone struggles inside of SAO, on the real world, someone close to him struggles in her own way…and a Hero has truly risen from what once was sadness and despair?! Wha-what does that mean?! And who is this person close to Kirito-san?! Do-don't tell me he has a girlfr-!"

𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪!