December 24, 2023

Kirito and Sachi were sorting through their inventories, trying to find their most effective equipment.

They said nothing to each other, as there was nothing more to say.

As she worked, Sachi took a look out the window. Her heart ached when she saw guilds walking around the main square.

They were once in a group like that. The memory of being with her closest friends was still fresh in her mind.

She closed her eyes and gently shook her head, trying to remind herself to focus on the task ahead. She had to, for him.

A few minutes passed before they finally closed their menus and turned towards each other.

"Sachi, are you sure about this?" her partner asked her gently.

Sachi looked at him in his sad gray eyes.

"Of course," she responded softly. "If I don't go with you, you'll just go yourself."

Hesitantly, she reached out to hold his gloved hands.

"I won't let you die."

Kirito turned away from his partner, trying to hide his blush.

Honestly, he was pleased with the progress she made. Within the last 6 months, she had learned how to fight better than most of the few players that he knew. He recognized that she was still afraid, but that was natural, she was simply more honest about it.

"Alright," he conceded after some time. "But promise me that you'll escape if something goes wrong."

Sachi smiled sadly at him. Grateful for his unwavering concern for such a timid girl.

"I promise, but nothing will go wrong," she assured him softly. "Because you are my partner."

After holding each other's hands for some time, the duo decided that it was time to leave.

"Hold up, Sachi," Kirito stopped before he opened the door.

Quickly, he went through his menu and pulled out a hooded black coat.

It was the same one that he had left in their shared storage space. They had an unspoken understanding that anything that was kept in this storage was free to be used by the other, however, she wasn't sure why exactly he left it there.

Turning away with an embarrassed expression, he held the coat out to her.

"This is warmer than what you're wearing," he told her as he looked at her shyly from the corner of his eye.

Sachi smiled at him and took the coat from him. Briefly, she pressed it to her face, as if it contained a part of the boy that she had grown so close to. With a smile, she put it on, already feeling warmer.

"Thank you," she said with a light blush.

Kirito smiled at her gently before turning back towards the door.

"Let's go," he whispered as he opened the door.

Sachi nodded and followed after him through the cold night.

***

It didn't take too long for them to reach the entrance to the forest maze. From their research, they knew about the basic layout of the area.

But more than that, Kirito had figured out precisely where the boss would be appearing.

They had spent a lot of their money on the info from Kirito's friend Argo, but it had been worth it.

They opened their maps to check the marked areas. After making an approximate path in their heads, they ran together into the silent forest.

They were able to get through the area while only participating in only two battles.

By the time they entered the area in front of all the trees, there was around 40 minutes left before midnight.

At that time, they would be fighting a boss that may have been more difficult than any they had faced so far. Although she was more used to battles at this point, she was still afraid and petrified at the thought of dying.

But she couldn't let Kirito do this alone. She knew that he thought that this was somehow his responsibility, as if he could make up for any indirect deaths that he caused.

But none of those deaths would have been his fault. He may have been an example to many players, but everyone made the choice themselves to fight.

Perhaps her own stake in this was more selfish. In all honesty, she couldn't bring herself to believe that death in any world could be reversed... but if she were to wake up the next morning and didn't see him next to her... she wasn't sure if she could go on living.

After all... they both knew that the motive of this mission was primarily for her sake...

Or perhaps he was looking for forgiveness from the wrong source...

There was only a couple of metres left before they reached their goal, but she couldn't shake off her hesitation.

Just when they had passed the final warp point, several players appeared from it.

As the two turned around, Kirito pushed Sachi behind him and prepared his sword to attack.

In front of them was a group of 10 people, and standing in front of them was a man dressed as a samurai, wearing a bandana.

She had met him a few times in the last six months, recognizing him as Kirito's only consistent friend; Klein.

The main members of the Fuurinkazan guild each looked nervous as they moved closer to them from the warp point behind them. "...Were you following us?" he cautiously asked the leader of the group.

"Yeah," Klein admitted. "We have someone with good tracking skill."

"Why...?" Kirito asked as if he couldn't believe that somebody would care about him.

"Because we were told from certain people that you two bought all the tree coordinates, and for safety measures, I went to look at the sentry gate at the 49th level, but found that you two were moving towards the level where there was no information on. I felt that your battle ability and gaming instincts were really strong, stronger than the clearing group...even more than that Heathcliff. So...Kirito, Sachi, you two can't die at a place like this."

Klein pointed his finger at them and shouted,

"GIVE UP ON THIS RECKLESS DUAL PARTY ATTACK AND PARTY WITH US! LET THE PERSON WHO GETS THE REVIVAL ITEM DROP KEEP IT, OKAY!?"

Sachi looked to the man sympathetically. It was obvious that Klein cared about Kirito a great deal, but she knew that this was something Kirito felt that he had to do, with his hands or with the person he trusted the most.

Before either of them could vocalize how they felt, the man said something more surprising.

"BETTER YET, JUST FORGET ABOUT THAT STUPID CRYSTAL AND GO HOME!" Why would he say that, unless... "YOUR FRIENDS MUST BE WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

She froze as it became obvious what was going on.

During the time since they left the «Moonlit Black Cats», Klein had told them several times to go back to their guildmates, but this was the first time he was so assertive about it.

There was no doubt.

"Keita wants us back," she whispered to Kirito.

He gave her a startled look and pulled her close, as if trying to get comfort from her.

She didn't protest, this was how they were –two strays licking each other's wounds, they had to support each other.

"I can't... not yet..." he spoke in a whisper that may not have been carried to the group across from them. "I hurt them all too much, I can't be forgiven..."

"I forgive you," she whispered into his ear without hesitation. As she said this, he briefly calmed down and held her tighter.

He wanted nothing more than to run now, to abandon the man who he had already abandoned before and try to find repentance only a few metres away.

However, before he could respond to her, or request for her to run with him, they were cut off by a new speaker.

"That's enough," came a familiar voice which made them flinch. "You did what you could, but we'll take it from here."

At that moment, another group of intruders made themselves known.

Kirito and Sachi hesitantly turned around to see the speaker, and his three companions appearing from the forest.

The small group was composed of a tall boy with short brown hair and a double-handed staff which was unequipped on his back; A short boy with a beanie covering most of his blonde hair and wearing a yellow thief's cloak which they knew concealed a dagger; A tall boy with perpetually closed eyes, wearing purple armour and equipped with a mace on his hip holster; A tall boy wearing green armour and a green hat, equipped with a spear like the one she once used so long ago.

"Keita..." Sachi whispered, surprised at his appearance tonight.

The boy in question fixed them with an unreadable gaze before speaking.

"It's been a long time, Sachi, Kirito..." he said trying to sound mysterious.

For once in his life, Kirito lost his bravery and hid behind Sachi, unprepared to see his old guildmates, especially after what he did.

Sachi made a half-step forward and protectively held an arm in front of him, ready to defend him.

However, she could tell that although Keita was upset with them, he was happy to see them again... or at least her.

"Thank you, Klein," he nodded to the katana wielder. "You did your best but this is our problem now."

Klein gave him a look that was full of emotion.

"It's not just your problem! Kirito is my bro! I have to care about him."

Unable to stand the pressure anymore, Sachi put her own questions forward.

"Why are you all here?" she asked almost desperately. "And how did you find us?"

She shrunk back when all the eyes turned on her, but her protective arm stayed in place.

Keita stepped forward to explain but Tetsuo pushed him back, unwilling to let his emotions get in the way.

"We've been searching for you two for the last six months, ever since you ran away," he explained in an understanding tone. "We were getting ready to leave things be, but last month, we heard rumours that the «Black Swordsman» was searching for an item and we were worried, so we bought all the information we could from an info-broker."

The duo glanced at them uncertainly trying to ascertain their motives for following them after the two of them abandoned them.

However, before they could do so, another group teleported in.

From the large number of lights, it was clear that it wasn't just a few stray players following them, but a large group.

"Seems like you guys were followed too, Klein," Kirito mumbled, somehow able to keep his sharp wit.

"Looks that way..." Klein groaned.

Observing the group, the combined forces of Kirito, Sachi, the «Moonlit Black Cats», and «Fuurinkazan» were still outnumbered.

A «Fuurinkazan» swordsman that was standing beside Klein leaned beside the leader's face and whispered to him.

"Those guys are the «Divine Dragon Alliance», a group of guys who can become orange just to attack the flag boss."

Kirito and Sachi had heard of them as well. Fighting them off was not what they needed right now.

Sachi felt Kirito grab her arm, ready to run off and bring her to safety, and from the corner of her eyes she saw him begin to draw his sword.

Uncertainly, she reached back to draw her own sword. She certainly did not want to fight any other players, but she knew that they would have to fight if it came down to it.

However, Klein's shout stopped them before they could fully draw their weapons.

"DAMN IT! THOSE BASTARDS!"

The katana user drew out the weapon at his waist before anyone else and growled at them from behind.

"Get over there! Leave this to me! Go beat the boss! I won't allow any of you to die though! I won't forgive any of you if you dare to die in front of me! Never!"

It finally dawned on them that they were wasting too much time, grabbing each other's hands, the runaway duo turned away from everyone.

"Thank you..." Sachi shouted softly at the brave man and to everyone who stood with him.

They turned and entered the last warp point, no longer paying any mind to who may have been following them.

***

The duo ran towards the location that they memorized.

A fir tree.

Breathing heavy, Kirito checked the timer;

"60 more seconds, get ready, Sachi!"

"Yes, Kirito!"

They took a final look at each other, nodded and pulled out their weapons, preparing for the fight of their lives.

"Less than a minute?" came a young voice from behind them. "Good! I hate waiting."

Surprised, Kirito and Sachi turned around to see Keita, Ducker, Tetsuo and Sasamaru standing behind them, weapons at the ready.

"Why are you all here?" Sachi asked, still on the defensive. Honestly, she was certain that they had stayed behind to support Klein.

Glancing at her timer, she saw that only 20 seconds remained.

The group walked beside them and formed an organized line, ready to fight the boss.

"It's because we are your guildmates," Keita answered without looking at her. "And the «Moonlit Black Cats» fight together!"

Kirito and Sachi couldn't help but stare at their former leader, touched at the loyalty he was showing.

"Thank you, Keita." Sachi whispered softly to her dear childhood friend.

"Thank you, everyone," Kirito whispered.

As the timer hit zero, and midnight was reached, an alarm sounded in their ears. Looking up, they saw a strangely-shaped monster dragging a giant sled.

"Get ready, everyone..."

As it reached the top of the trees, a black shadow flew down from the sled. When it landed, everyone was forced to take a few steps back and close their eyes to endure the splash of artificial snow that sprayed them.

They looked forward to see a monster that was three times their size. It was still humanoid but its arms were disproportionately long. There were small red eyes that glowed under its hat. A long, waist-length beard covered the lower half of its face.

The monster dressed like the popular image of Santa Claus, wearing red with a matching, cone-shaped hat. However, unlike Santa, it held an imposingly large axe in its right hand, while its left hand gripped a large bag.

"Santa's a lot uglier than I thought he would be," Ducker joked despite the situation.

«Nicholas the Renegade» began to speak in a jolly growl.

Between the two of them, Kirito and Sachi knew that they couldn't wait to hear the boss's whole speech.

Sharing a look, somehow telling each other that they were ready and that this was their moment to strike.

Kirito ran to flank it.

Sachi ran forward to tank its hits to allow for her partner to attack.

Together they took turns striking the boss.

The others ran forward to help the effort.

***

As they fought the boss, there was chaos.

Snow whipped up as they ran and as the boss slammed its weapons into the ground as they dodged.

Fear gripped Sachi as she fought.

However, seeing Kirito fight with all he had motivated her to put it aside.

He was strong! But that didn't mean she couldn't help.

Standing her ground, she tanked a hit from the axe.

The boss raised its other arm to slam her with the giant sack.

She couldn't help but close her eyes, afraid of the hit.

But she was ready. She knew that Kirito would get in more damage as it focused on her.

However, Keita ran in beside her, ready to deflect the blow away from her.

Kirito ran in and struck the monster with a powerful sword skill.

At the same time, Tetsuo, Sasamaru and Ducker struck the boss at various points, reducing its HP even faster.

Their fight continued as Sachi and Tetsuo alternated tanking hits as the others brought its HP down with various skills.

***

After a long battle, the original «Moonlit Black Cats» fell into the snow, exhausted from the hardest fight that they had been in. Only Kirito remained standing.

As the guild put away their weapons, the sack glowed and disappeared. All the items should have been registered in the inventory of the person who made the last strike - Kirito.

Sure enough, Kirito sat down in the snow and opened his menu with a tired wave.

Sachi crawled over to him, and held his free hand to give him support.

With her head resting on his shoulder, she watched as he scrolled through the dropped items, searching for what they were seeking.

"It's here..." he informed her. They squeezed each other's hands a little tighter. "The «Divine Stone of Returning Soul»."

"I can't believe it..." Sachi whispered. "This could mean that death isn't permanent..."

"Maybe..."

Quietly, he clicked on the help menu of the item and read out the instructions to the girl on his shoulder,

[The item can be used on the player's shortcut menu or holding the materialized item and shouting «Revive .. Player Name», the effect will only work and revive the fallen player during the time frame between death of the player to the disappearance of item's effect light. (approximately 10 seconds)]

The last two words hit her like a brick, taking away the smallest bit of hope that she had. "10 seconds?" Sachi repeated, downcast. "Then... I guess we can't use it to save anyone who already passed..."

She looked downwards, mournful that she couldn't bring back a lost friend.

Before she could cry, she felt an arm pushing her into Kirito's chest.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered into her hair. "I really thought..." he trailed off.

"It's alright, it's not your fault," she told him gently as she wrapped her arm around him. "Nothing is your fault."

After that long fight, she wanted nothing more than to lose herself in this moment, embraced by the one she loves. However she had another question that she had to ask,

"Now that you have this... are you satisfied?"

Kirito looked at her, unsure of what she meant.

Before he could ask her what she was trying to say, they received a reminder that they weren't alone anymore.

"It's good to see you again."

Standing above them, Keita looked at the two after so long. It was obvious how much they both changed.

"It's good to see both of you," he reiterated.

Kirito shrunk back under his gaze, expecting harsh words from his former leader.

From what she knew about him, he wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible. But that wasn't possible anymore. It was time for them to take responsibility for their actions.

Although she was worried about being scolded herself, Sachi hugged Kirito protectively, letting Keita know whose side she was on.

Keita's gaze lingered on them, noting how close they were.

"SACHI! KIRITO!"

Before Keita could say anything further, Ducker ran up to them and jumped at them, enveloping them both in a hug and nearly sending them crashing back into the snow.

"I missed you guys!" he said tearfully. "You shouldn't have left!"

The two runaways simply sat there and let themselves be hugged by their guildmate.

Before they could make sense of the situation, Tetsuo and Sasamaru joined in the hugging session, letting them know that they were missed.

"Guys!" Keita yelled at them after hitting his head with his palm. "We're supposed to be angry at them right now! Not hugging them already!"

Sasamaru simply laughed at him, and yet there was no mocking in that laugh. "That's what you wanted!" he reminded Keita. "We never agreed to that!"

"Besides," Ducker added while laughing. "We know that you missed them as much as we did!"

"Shut up, Ducker!"

Naturally, he did no such thing.

"Every night, we could hear you saying, 'Come back, Sachi, Kirito, we all miss you!'"

"No I didn't!" he yelled with an embarrassed blush.

"Ha, ha..."

"HAHAHAHA!"

Sachi couldn't help but laugh at the familiar display. Even Kirito couldn't keep his amusement in check as he laughed along with his partner.

"We missed you too!" they said in unison.

Sachi was the first to apologize.

"I'm sorry everyone, for running away. I know that you all must have been worried... But I was too worried about Kirito to leave him alone."

Tetsuo hugged them a little tighter, as if he was happy at her apology.

"It's alright, as long as you understand that what you did was wrong..."

"I'm sorry, but that isn't true," she told him. "I'm sorry for running away, but I don't regret my choice at all."

She looked at Kirito with a smile before continuing.

"I got to spend time with an amazing person, and I had a chance to help him, so I'm thankful."

"Really, Sachi..." Keita groaned disapprovingly.

"For Kirito... I'd do it again..." she confirmed without regret.

Kirito held her a little tighter, touched at her absolute devotion to him. With a heavy sigh, he resolved to say the words on his chest.

"I'm sorry too..." he added more solemnly.

"I'm sorry for everything I did..."

"I'm sorry for lying about my level."

"I'm sorry for nearly getting you all killed."

"I'm sorry for being a coward and running away from the guild instead of taking responsibility for my actions."

He looked at them all before continuing.

"I'm sorry for it all."

Keita looked at him approvingly, glad that he knew that he made mistakes.

"I made a mistake when I lied to you all. I was being selfish and it nearly cost you all your lives." Sachi gripped his hand tighter, reminding him that some good came from this all. But he was still feeling guilty. "I know that I can never be forgiven, so all I can say is, that I'm sorry."

There was a long moment of silence after his heartfelt apology.

"It's alright Kirito..." Keita assured him with a gentleness that she always knew. "The truth is I was upset about what happened, and for you lying about your level... But I never wanted you to leave us for that,"

Kirito looked at him with tears in his eyes.

"Kirito, I can understand why you would keep who you are a secret from us... and even if things went badly, you are a member of our guild... more than that, you're our friend, a part of our family. You helped us become stronger and you saved the lives of our guildmates. We are all grateful for that."

The boy slowly began to feel relief, it was as if a burden on his heart had been lifted now that he knew that he had been forgiven by his friends.

But Keita's eyes narrowed on him as if there was still one more problem.

"But are you sorry for kidnapping a member of our guild?!" he demanded, his voice suddenly serious.

Kirito looked shocked at the accusation, but Sachi spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but I went with him willingly, so he didn't kidnap me, he shouldn't have to apologize for that!"

"That's not true!" Kirito called over her. "You forced me to take you along! You should apologize to me for that!"

"Never!" Sachi cried as they hugged each other tighter.

Keita couldn't help but laugh at his reunited guild.

With a smile, he joined the group hug and they all laughed together.

***

Soon enough, they disengaged from each other and walked towards the portal that led to the previous area of the dungeon.

At the other warp gate, only Klein and his guild remained.

"I guess you drove them off," Keita called to the exhausted katana wielder. "Thanks for that."

Klein looked at them. Despite the tiredness on his face, he looked pleased at what he was seeing.

"That's right, I challenged the strongest one to a duel and got them to back off!"

"Of course, you obviously couldn't fight more than one player," Kirito said in a voice that was dripping with sarcasm.

"Lecture me after you stared down an entire army."

Laughing at his own joke, he once again counted their numbers, smiling satisfied when he counted to six.

"It looks like your guild is all back together, all thanks to me."

Kirito looked at his old friend and smiled.

"That's right, thank you, Klein."

Klein stared at him, unused to his praise.

"If it wasn't for you, I may never have rejoined my guild," he elaborated. "So thank you."

"Thank you, Klein," Keita added with a respectful bow. "If it wasn't for you, we may have never found our guildmates again. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

"Thank you," the other four Black Cats chorused as they bowed together respectfully.

Klein looked at them with a stoic expression. However, tears started to stream down his face while keeping the same expression.

"Dude, are you crying?" Ducker asked, completely weirded out.

"Yes, yes I am!" he admitted without an ounce of shame. "To think that someone like me can make such a magical Christmas miracle!"

"Bro, stop! You're embarrassing us!" said one of his guildmates who looked ready to cry himself.

...This was... unexpected...

The «Moonlit Black Cats» continued to stand there, not sure of what to say to the group of sobbing men.

"You have... interesting friends," Sachi whispered into Kirito's ear.

"Maybe..." he conceded with an embarrassed look. "But I'm glad I know them."

Keita realized that this wasn't going to end soon, so he decided it was time to leave.

"R-Right... We're going to go home now... Take care of yourselves! We'll meet again one day!"

Klein finally looked up, tears still streaming down his face, he said his goodbyes.

"We'll see you again! We'll end this game and we'll see each other again in the real world."

"It's a promise!" Kirito told him.

Sachi smiled at him, happy that he was willing to open up.

They started to turn away, but Sachi stopped Kirito with a nudge.

With a smile, she pointed her head at Klein.

Kirito was well aware of what she was trying to say, and immediately went to do it.

"One more thing, Klein."

"Hm?"

Kirito opened his inventory and pulled out a glowing crystal. Without warning, he threw it at Klein who was too emotional to try and catch it, hitting him in the chest.

"That's payment for your help, from me and Sachi."

Klein looked at the crystal curiously. Checking the description, his crying eyes widened to unrealistic proportions.

"But this is... Why would you give it to me?"

"Cause you meet more people than I do," he said without shame in his lack of social skills.

Kirito took a look at his guildmates who were smiling, proud of him.

"And now, I trust my guildmates."

"Kirito..."

"Use it on the next person who dies in front of you," he called as he turned back to his guildmates and grabbed Sachi's waiting hand.

"Kirito..."

The group didn't turn around.

"You must survive..." he called to them desperately. "All of you must survive! Till the very end!"

Without another word, the reunited «Moonlit Black Cats» walked out of the dungeon.

***

"Merry Christmas!" Keita cheered as he raised his cup.

"Merry Christmas!" cheered the rest of them as they brought up their cups to meet his.

After leaving the dungeon, the «Moonlit Black Cats» went to a café near their new guild house to celebrate Christmas.

"And to our returning guildmates!" Ducker cheered as he brought his cup forward with a wink.

"Welcome back, Sachi! Kirito!" Sasamaru cheered.

"You had us worried guys!" Tetsuo told them with a smile.

Kirito and Sachi could only stare at them awkwardly. They found it strange that they were being so welcoming after the stunt that they pulled.

They understood that they abandoned their friends, but here they were, still willing to welcome them back.

"We... we missed you too," Sachi admitted bashfully.

"It's really good to see all of you again," Kirito agreed awkwardly, still unused to being part of a large group.

Keita observed them, he could tell that they were still awkward about the whole situation. After all, the duo obviously didn't expect to see them again tonight.

"Give them some space guys," he warned his friends. "They may not be ready to talk about everything that they've been through just yet."

Hearing Keita say this made Sachi extremely grateful, he was sparing them from having to explain everything that happened between them.

"Awwwwww," Ducker whined as Kirito and Sachi took a sip of their drinks. "But I want to hear about their elopement."

They immediately spat out their drinks as the others erupted in laughter.

"E-Elopement?!" Sachi repeated embarrassedly.

"It's not like that!" Kirito yelled in embarrassment.

"It seems like that," Tetsuo teased through his laughing.

Sachi immediately grasped for an innocent explanation, not that there really was one. "I just wanted to make sure that Kirito would be all right!" she explained frantically, trying to keep her embarrassment out of her tone. "I care about him, that's all!"

The «Moonlit Black Cats» continued to laugh at their antics, unable to calm themselves down.

Kirito looked to the ground with a downcast expression, his hair covering his eyes. "Does that mean that you don't love me?" he asked quietly.

Sachi saw his sad posture and immediately tried to make him feel better.

"I didn't mean that!" she assured fearfully. "I mean I--"

She stopped when she saw that he was smiling.

"Don't you tease me!"

"But it's so fun!"

"Definitely an elopement," Ducker muttered barely loud enough for them to hear.

The couple in question could only blush at the accusation.

"Okay, okay," Keita hushed them although he sounded ready to laugh. "Leave the two lovebirds alone."

They blushed even more furiously.

"Now it has been a while, and we obviously have a lot of questions we want to ask you."

They shuffled towards each other guiltily.

"But I think that can all wait," he said almost dramatically.

They looked at him curiously.

"Right now, we're just glad to see you." He got interrupted by 3 simultaneous "Yups."

"And we just have one question,"

They knew what it was.

"Will you two rejoin the «Moonlit Black Cats»?"

It was such a simple request.

"Of course!" the two said at the same time.

At those two words, the rest of their guild put down everything they were holding and ran in to hug their new guildmates,

***

After the party and recruitment, the guild returned to their guild house.

Sachi could not help but marvel at it as they entered. Kirito was able to restrain his curiosity, although he couldn't help but look around when he thought that nobody was watching.

Ducker, Tetsuo and Sasamaru quickly retreated into their rooms, no doubt tired from everything that happened that night.

Only Keita stayed with them.

"Well, my new members," Keita teased them. "We have two extra rooms for you two, make sure you pick which one you want."

They didn't answer him, unsure of what was right to say in this type of situation.

Instead, they both gave him a grateful smile, letting him know that they were glad that he was always thinking about them.

Keita smiled at them and scratched the back of his head, a familiar thing he did.

"We'll talk in the morning," he warned them without trying to sound upset. "Until then... good night you two... I really missed you both."

"Thank you, Keita," Sachi said kindly.

"We're really glad to be back," Kirito added honestly.

The taller boy smiled at them before heading off to what was probably his room.

Silently, they walked into one of the free rooms and took a quick look around.

There wasn't much, just a double bed, a desk and a treasure chest for items. In a word, it was cozy.

"This is nice," Sachi concluded.

"It's better than the inns that we've been staying in recently," Kirito said as he squeezed her hand.

After the long night, they could have slept anywhere, but sleeping in a place owned by their friends... it was nicer... as if it was their actual home.

"So I guess you can have this room," Kirito mumbled shyly.

"Wait," she said as she grasped his hand. "The bed is big enough for both of us..." she started to blush, "and it'll be difficult to sleep in a new place alone..."

His hand wrapped around her own, knowing what she didn't say in words.

"Well I suppose we can sleep together tonight." He said trying to sound nonchalant. "It's not like we haven't been doing that for god knows how long."

He looked at her teasingly.

He wants me to say it out loud.

She took a deep breath, willing to indulge him.

"Let's sleep together," she said bashfully.

With a smile, he patted her hand.

"That's all you had to say."

***

*BEEP* *BEEP*

Kirito woke up to a strange alarm ringing in his ears.

Its sound was different from that of his alarm, confusing him as to what the source could be.

As he sat up, he briefly disturbed the still slumbering Sachi.

He briefly paused when he saw her peaceful sleeping figure, reminding him of his promise.

As the alarm continued to ring, he reluctantly removed his hand from hers and opened his menu.

For some reason, the item space shared by him and Sachi was glowing. There was a limited use item. In a puzzled manner, he scrolled down the few contents and found a timer activated message record crystal.

He took the crystal out and went to the nearby table.

After clicking on the glowing crystal, he heard words from Sachi that would remain with him forever.

***

Message to Kirito

Kirito, Merry Christmas.

At the time when you hear this message, I am probably dead. That is because if I were still alive, I would have removed this crystal from the shared inventory on Christmas Eve and let you hear what I have to say personally.

That... Let me clarify why I have recorded this message.

I, probably, will not survive for long. Of course, this does not mean that I doubt the capability of Kirito and the «Moonlit Black Cats» guild. That is because Kirito is very strong and the rest of the members are getting stronger by the day.

How should I explain this...? A very close friend of mine from another guild lost her life. Being a timid person like me, she only hunted in safe areas, but because of her bad luck, she was killed by mobs on her way back to town. After that, I pondered over various stuffs and I came to a conclusion. To continue surviving in this world, it matters not how strong your companions are, if you do not have the will to live or the determination to survive no matter what, death definitely awaits.

For me.. Truthfully, ever since the first time I stepped into the beginner practice area, I was and have been very afraid. Actually, I never intended to leave the Starting City. Although I was very close to members from the Moonlit Black Cats in the real world and I enjoyed the time we spent together, I hated going into battles. I probably will die eventually if I continue to hold this attitude in battle. This was not caused by anyone, the problem lies with me.

Ever since that night, you've been telling me it's alright every night and that I won't die. That is why if by any chance I die, you'll definitely blame yourself for it and won't forgive yourself. This is also the reason why I thought of recording this message. I would like to tell Kirito, it isn't your fault. If there is any problem, it would be me. The date will be set on the next Christmas, because I would like to at least try to survive until then, hoping to walk down the snowy street together with you.

Actually.... I knew how strong Kirito is. One time, when I woke up from Kirito's bed, I accidentally saw your level from your opened status window behind you.

Even after thinking long and hard, I still did not manage to come up with any reasons why Kirito-kun would hide his real level and form a party with us. But I didn't mention this to the other members, as I believed that someday you would tell us the reason personally....... I was rejoicing when I found out that you are very strong. After knowing that, I started to be able to sleep peacefully as long as I am by your side. Perhaps to you, being with me might be of significance to you, this also made me very happy. If this is the case, there was definitely meaning in me coming to the higher floors even for a timid person like me.

That... Actually, what I am trying to say is, even if I die, you should strive to survive. Live on, look upon this world until it ends, please help me find out the reason why this world was created, the meaning of why such a timid person is in this world, the significance of our meeting. That is my wish.

Ah... Seems like there is still some time left. This crystal can record plenty of stuff. Hmmm, then, since Christmas is such a special occasion, I'll sing a Christmas carol. I do have some confidence in my voice. I guess I'll go with [Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer]. Actually I would have preferred to sing other songs like [Winter Wonderland], [White Christmas] which are more well known, but unfortunately I can only sing the lyrics of this song.

Why did I only remember [Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer]? The previous night, Kirito said something to me, "No matter who you are, you definitely can make a difference in someone's life." Telling me that even if it is me, there is a place where I belong. After hearing those words, I was extremely glad and I remembered this song. I don't know why but it was probably because I kind of thought of myself as Rudolph and you as Santa Claus.... if I have to put it in words, you give off a fatherly feeling. My father left me when I was still very young, that is why every night when I was sleeping beside you, I kept wondering if that was the feeling that a father would give. Ah, okay, I'll start singing.

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose.♪

All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names.♪

Then one Christmas Eve♪

Santa came to say:♪

"Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"♪

Rudolph who was always crying, started smiling that night.♪

......To me, you'll always be like a bright star that shines and guides me from the opposite end of a dark alley. Good-bye, Kirito. It was really fortunate of me to have met you and to have been with you.

Thank you.

Good Bye.

A/N: Sachi's message was copied almost entirely from the translation formally found on Baka-Tsuki.org. All credit goes to the original author and the translator.

***

As the crystal fell to the wooden desk with a light sound, his silent tears continued to fall on it.

Many of the things that she said in her message were things that she had slowly revealed to him over the course of the preceding months.

And yet... hearing them again... they brought a certain peace to his heart.

With a sad smile, he picked up the no longer usable record crystal and returned it to their storage.

In a melancholy manner, he returned to the bed and took a long look at the still sleeping girl.

He smiled a bit, knowing that due to her survival, he should not have heard of the crystal. He couldn't wait to tease her about this tomorrow.

As he laid down next to her, he once again held her hand and brought his face right next to hers.

"I promise that you won't die..." he said to her again. But this time, he added words from the bottom of his heart. "Because I am the one who is going to protect you. To fulfill that promise, I will work hard to make myself stronger."

As he drifted off to sleep once again, he added one more thing into the darkness that he was certain about.

"But you don't really need me, you've always been one of the greatest people I know."

***

Sachi woke up to the feeling of someone poking her cheek.

With a smile on her face, she looked up to see Kirito sitting over her, his hand still next to her face.

"Good morning," he greeted gently. "And Merry Christmas, Sachi."

Sachi blinked a few times before she could return the greeting.

"Merry Christmas, Kirito."

They quickly got out of bed and got dressed, turning away from each other to give each other some sense of privacy.

As soon as they were done, Sachi went to the room's door. However, she was stopped when Kirito tapped her shoulder.

With a smile he pointed out the window, suggesting that they sneak out today.

Smiling back at him, she nodded her head, a bit excited to do something a bit silly with him.

***

The world around them was filled with the colour of snow. It covered the streets and buildings which they passed.

Just as she imagined it, the two walked down the streets, hand in hand.

"It's beautiful," Sachi said.

"Yeah," he responded, although he wasn't looking at the snow. When he did turn to it, he said, "It's incredible how it almost looks real."

Sachi smiled in response. "Sometimes it's easy to forget everything bad in this world."

"Maybe, but it's easier to remember everything good."

Sachi smiled at him.

"Yeah, like how everything turned out right in the end."

He smiled at her back.

"We were able to become stronger, just the two of us."

"We were able to meet our friends again."

"I got to meet incredible people, I got to join a guild."

"In spite of everything that happened, we were able to accomplish everything we set out to do."

He tightened his grip on her hand, "I got to meet you."

"Kirito," she sighed.

"No matter what happened, I have no regrets meeting you."

Sachi blinked a few times, wondering why those words sounded so familiar.

All of a sudden it came to her!

"Y-you listened to my message, didn't you...?" she asked nervously. "I-I forgot to remove it, didn't I?"

"I did and you did," he responded coolly. "And every word of it was meaningful."

Hardly able to hear his words, she was blushing madly, putting her hands on her cheeks.

"S-sorry! It's not like I didn't trust you to keep us safe! It's just that, I wanted to be prepared just in case something happened!"

She panicked, recalling what she had recorded, she couldn't help but feel nervous and embarrassed that she had poured her heart out like that.

Not that she regretted what she said.

She was cut off from her nervous stuttering by a gentle hug.

"I get it, anything could've gone wrong and you just wanted to be prepared."

He paused to place his forehead against the top of her head.

"Who knows, maybe if something did happen to you..." he paused, the idea of losing her was unbearable, "and I was alone... maybe hearing that message could've saved my life."

She turned her head to look him in the eyes. His eyes were soft and warm.

"I may not be the best with people or even the best player in this game, but I will always protect you."

She was going to say something to reaffirm what he was saying.

"But you don't really need me, you've always been one of the best people I've known."

The formally runaway duo looked each other deep in the eyes, smiling, they brought their lips together.

Their first kiss.

"Called it!" a raucous voice called from an alleyway.

Quickly turning to the source of the noise, the couple saw their guildmates watching from an alleyway.

"How much did you guys see?" Kirito asked, embarrassed.

"All of it," Ducker replied while dancing around a bit.

"Couldn't hear much of it," Tetsuo added with a wide grin.

"But we saw the most important part," Sasamaru teased them.

"...You didn't see anything..." Sachi whispered thoroughly embarrassed.

"Oh Sachi," Keita said with a smirk, "we all knew it was bound to happen."

"You didn't see anything..." Sachi repeated again, this time more darkly.

With wide, almost un-lifelike eyes, she looked her guildmates in the eyes... and drew her new sword...

***

After sorting out their... argument... the guild returned to their home, still in the festive spirit.

They spent the time partying and chatting with each other.

Still, they tried to extract information out of Sachi and Kirito, asking them how far they got into their relationship.

Neither of them were willing to give concrete answers so they playfully tried to dance around the subject.

By the time night finally fell, they were willing to tell them something important.

"Listen, guys," Kirito spoke softly. "While I'm glad to be back with the guild again, I'm afraid I can't stay too long."

Sachi squeezed his hand, urging him to continue.

"As much as I like being with you guys, I'm needed on the frontlines."

Surprisingly, there were no looks of rebuke or even surprise on their guildmates' faces, instead they were smiling knowingly.

"We thought you'd say that," Keita said surprisingly unbothered. "It's obvious that you're an important part of the frontline effort, and it wouldn't be fair if we were to keep you with us."

"But know this," his tone turned solemn. "No matter what happens, you'll always be one of us, and you'll always have a place here."

"Thanks guys," Kirito said with a smile. "I'm really glad to be one of you, and I'm proud to be a member of this guild."

"But before that," he said suddenly sounding shy, "I want to spend some time away from everyone..."

He grabbed Sachi's arm before continuing, "along with Sachi."

She blushed as the boys looked at them accusingly. "We discussed this before," Sachi tried to sound confident against their teasing looks. "It'll just be for a week, and I'll be back after the new year."

Keita let out an exaggerated sigh as he shook his head, trying to suppress his smile. "Alright Sachi, Kirito," he said neutrally, "we'll give you your couple's week."

"I'll come back and rejoin the guild," Sachi informed them, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Hey, no rush," he teased them. "But thanks,"

"Can't bear another year without her, can you?" Ducker teased him.

"Maybe I'm the one who can't bear to spend more time away from you guys," Sachi interjected.

Tetsuo and Sasamaru smiled at her.

"Well, we are irresistible," Sasamaru said.

"And what's another week after 6 months?" Tetsuo asked accusingly.

"And after that one week," Sachi said with a grin, "then I teach you everything I learned."

"Can't wait!" Ducker said as he ran up and hugged her.

She hugged him back, happy that she was once again with her friends.

One more week and I'll be here again, she thought.

She took a look at her guildmates whom she had missed for 6 months.

Maybe I'll be without Kirito, but if I'm wi­th my friends again, I couldn't be happier!

***

"You ready?" Kirito asked her as he nervously held her hand.

"I'm ready," she responded, equally nervous.

They gripped each other's gloved hands, thinking of the secret they still kept from their guildmates.

One day they would tell them, but for now... it was their little secret.

She started to hum a little song as they walked forward.

With a smile, Kirito did the same.

As they hummed the tune together, they stepped through the portal, together.

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Hi everyone who's still reading!

Sorry for the extremely long delay. What's it been, like 2 years? Yeah, I don't blame anyone if they gave up on waiting for an update. Life and fluctuating creativity keep getting in the way.

I intend to upload at least 2 chapters by June, 22 but I cannot make any promises except for this, I will not give up on this story anytime soon.

Until next time, Thank you, Farewell.