Chapter 12: Odyssey to the World Tree! Strongest Gamer vs. Fairy World!

November 9th, 2024. Alfheim, somewhere near Sylph Territory. 22:05…

There were few things nowadays that could surprise Kirigaya Suguha, Leafa the Sylph in the world of Alfheim Online, to the point of leaving her speechless.

Between her brother getting trapped in the SAO incident, discovering the truth about their relationship, becoming a 'vigilante' in real life AND starting playing a game where you went around flying and fighting against all kind of monsters and opponents weapon in hand, there was almost nothing that could get such a reaction from her.

Suddenly being saved by a boy who was dressed and showing 'powers' kind of like the main character of her and her brother's favorite series, then realizing that the boy was, in fact, HER BROTHER, however, was more one of the few things that still did.

"Onii…chan…? Is it really…you?"

"Su-Sugu?!" taking a step back, Kirito actually seemed more surprised than his sister. "Wha…? How…? Yo-you play Virtual Reality games?!"

…one could have called him stupid, for asking such an obvious question, but in all honesty, THAT was what truly surprised the Spriggan the most. After all, on his eyes, his adoptive sister was the athletic and no-nonsense one of the family. In fact, she couldn't even understand why he liked videogames so much, and that had been yet another reason why they barely shared anything in common for years after he knew the truth, before they started watching One Punch-Man.

That was why, seeing her THERE, not only in the virtual world but also in a VRMMORPG, was what had shocked him the most.

Of course, he probably shouldn't have said that like THAT, because that just triggered the Sylph's next reaction even FASTER.

"What?! How can YOU be saying that to me?!" shouted the blonde girl while quickly walking up to him and angrily putting her index finger on his chest, making him gulp. "Yo-you're using THAT thing again, after what happened to you last time?! How could you?! And why would you even…?!"

"Su…Leafa, calm down, please!" putting his hands on his sister's shoulders, Kirito forced himself to call her by the name of her avatar and make her look straight to his eyes, freezing her. "Take a deep breath, okay? First, it is safe. The Nerve Gear won't hurt me, the 'order' that did that was something exclusively hidden into SAO's code. I'm in no danger." getting a shaky nod from her, the boy let a sad smile appear on his face as he hugged the girl closer to him, making her gasp. "I'm sorry for freaking you out. I wasn't expecting to find you here, but…I should have at least thought about telling YOU I was going to do this. You're in the room next door; I have no excuse for that except my own stupidity. I…was so eager to try and do SOMETHING to help Asuna, Keita and the others that I didn't think…"

"Wa-wait, what? What do you mean, what does Logging into ALO has to do with your friends in the hospital?" confused beyond belief, the girl finally seemed to notice the most 'strange' of it all, now that she had calmed down from her 'outburst'. "And…how the hell did you do THAT before? Where did you get a costume like Saitama's if you JUST Logged In?"

Freezing, Kirito slowly let go of his sister before laughing awkwardly as he scratched his head.

"We-well, you see, that's kind of a long story…"

"Papa!" shouted Yui while shooting out of the trees, flying past the stunned Leafa and landing on the Spriggan's shoulder. "There you are! You know, you shouldn't have tried to jump so high, we're not in Aincrad any…uh?" finally noticing the presence of someone she didn't know, the small pixie turned her head towards the STARING Sylph. "Who is this? Some new friend of yours, Papa?"

"A…a Private Navigation Pixie?" getting out of her shock, a frown suddenly appeared on the blonde fairy's face as she caught on what the AI had said. "No, wait…Aincrad?! PAPA?!"

"U-uhm…" feeling himself even more nervous before his sister's open-mouthed look, the Spriggan couldn't help but release another chuckle. "Tha-that's also another long story with a good explanation…"

"Kiritooooo!" happy as a clam, Strea flew down and latched her arms around the boy's neck, not even making him move an inch, and rested her chin against his empty shoulder, her body pressed against the back of the boy who suddenly had an 'Oh shit'-face. "Sorry for taking so long!" then, she also seemed to notice the now pale and shaking Leafa, who was pointing at her while trying to form words from her now half-closed mouth. "Oh, and who do we have here? Hi there, I'm Strea!"

Despite having just minutes ago recalled the feeling of crushing monsters without effort for two years, fighting a 'God' on equal grounds and splitting a World apart with just one punch, Kirito still felt himself scared shitless at the suddenly DARK look her sister sent his way…though he wasn't really sure of WHY.

"Does THAT also have a good explanation, Onii-chan?" asked the girl with a voice so sweet it could have given an 'angry' Asuna a run for her money.

"…believe it or not…it does?" was all that the Spriggan could muster in answer.

The virtual sisters just exchanged confused looks.

0000000000000000000

Flying through ALO's skies, two fairies could be seen heading towards the beautiful form of Swilvane, capital city of the Sylph Race, also known as 'The Emerald Capital'. On its center, the massive form of the 'Tower of Wind' clearly dominated the whole area.

However, none of this had Leafa's attention for once (She usually took her time to enjoy the view of her race's capital, especially in nighttime), even as she kept glancing at the happily humming Gnome 'girl' flying at her side, the 'Navigation Pixie' called Yui standing on her shoulder.

"So… the first day you got trapped in Sword Art Online…you somehow ended up with Saitama's costume and powers. Then you became an ACTUAL Superhero after going around saving people…and these two are actually AIs that escaped their 'prison' at the hands of the Super-AI that maintained the game because they wanted to see YOU…"

"Actually, it was thanks to Yui-nee here!" cheerfully interrupted Strea while putting a hand near the pixie's cheek, tickling her as the little girl laughed. "I only came to see how cool Kirito was thanks to her!"

"…you also somehow ended up leading a guild as the main force on the 'Front Lines' to clear the game." continued the girl as if she hadn't been interrupted. "You one-punched anything and everything you could that threatened the Players while also taking time to run around and ensure people were safe…was that it?"

As if he had been waiting for the 'summary' of what he had been telling his little sister for the past half hour to end, the black and white blur that was running through the forest at the same speed the girls flew above it JUMPED just enough to shot a bit over them and forward, smiling awkwardly.

"You forgot the part where Kayaba went Full Boros on me and I had to split the sky open to stop him." he commented as a half-joke before starting to fall back down again.

"…yeah…I had kind of hoped that wasn't mentioned again…" deadpanned Leafa while finally forcing herself to accept that yes, her brother was being completely serious with his crazy claims, and that as far as she knew he was telling the TRUTH about it all (And the things he was currently doing also supported his point). "And today…one of the people you met on in SAO sent you a message with an image of…Asuna-san, that showed her as a fairy and trapped in a cage at the top of Yggdrasil, then gave you a copy of the game. And now you're trying to get there because you think it may all be some kind of evil plot created by this Sugou Noboyuki guy who wants to marry Asuna-san just to take over her father's company?"

"Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but think of it this way." as he jumped again to say this, the Kirito looked at his sister straight in the eyes. "Is not crazier than everything that has happened to me already. Or anything that happened to Saitama on a daily basis."

"Uhm, Papa…who is Saitama?" asked Yui while tilting her head as the boy descended too, getting a surprised look from Leafa. "You and Leafa-san have been mentioning him for quite a while…"

"Yeah, together with other things we don't understand…it's some kind of secret between you and your sister?" curiously asked Strea, looking excitedly at the blonde Sylph.

"…you haven't…told them?"

"Hey, it's not exactly my fault!" protested the Spriggan to the disbelief-filled voice of his adoptive sister, jumping once again, but backward this time, as he looked at her with crossed arms. "I didn't exactly want to sound as if I was crazy by pointing out the similarities between me and an anime charac…"

"TOWER!"

"Kirito, watch out!"

BAM!...CRASH!

"…well, lesson learned." calmly commented the boy while standing up from the imprint of himself he had just made on one of the main streets of Swilvane, having fallen down after crashing back-first against the Tower of Wind. "You don't try and look back while you're heading towards a city at super speed and you have no way of freely move through the air."

The Sylphs on the street, which had gathered around to observe the curious sight of the oddly-dressed Spriggan crashing against the ground, sweatdropped at his words.

"Uhm, there is nothing to see, everyone, he's with me!" quickly announced Leafa while descending near the caped boy, even as Strea did the same and poked Kirito's back as he stood up. "…and she too."

At this, the Spriggan was surprised of seeing many people nod in understanding before walking away, a couple even going so far to say 'Leafa-san made new friends' or 'If they're with Leafa then it's no problem'.

"Woah, you're very popular around here, Leafa-chan!" happily commented Strea while invading the Sylph's personal space, making her rear back in surprise.

"Ki-kind of…? I have just won a couple of tournaments and flying competitions around, nothing really important." waved it off the blonde girl, as if being recognized as one of the most powerful Sylphs and one of the fastest Players wasn't that great. "Point is, you should be more careful. ALO is mainly a PvP game, as Onii…I mean, as Kirito-kun discovered before, so Players from a non-ally race will be met with either suspicion or hostility in Capitals. "

"…you sure you weren't downplaying yourself before?" asked Kirito while raising an eyebrow at his sister. "You clearly know quite a lot about how things are. How long did you say you have been playing this?"

"Eh? Well, right now it has been a bit more than a ye…"

"Leafa-chan! Leafa-chan!"

The sudden shouts coming from somewhere down the street made the three members from the United Heroes Association blink and the blonde girl to facepalm, even as she turned around to see the incoming form of a Sylph boy with yellow-green, bob-styled hair and green eyes, who was running towards them and looking as if he was on the verge of tears. Stopping just in front of Leafa and leaning on his knees to catch his breath, he suddenly seemed incredibly happy.

"Recon." deadpanned the girl while crossing her arms, trying (And failing) to not let her annoyance at his pathetic death of before mix with the annoyance of being interrupted in the middle of an important conversation. "I see you resurrected without a problem."

"A-and you managed to make it back without dying, Leafa-chan!" exclaimed the boy with an awed tone. "N-not that I doubted you could take on those Salamanders, of course! You're not the current best Sylph's swordswoman and the fastest one for nothing!"

"Yes, that's all good and all, but back to the point…" quickly opening her menu, the girl created a Trade Window and let the green-haired boy blinking. "There, the exploits of today's hunting. You can go ahead and give his part to Sigurd, I'm busy now."

"U-uh? What?! Bu-but…I thought we co-could maybe go and drink something together and di-discuss today's Quest…" looking to the side with a sudden blush, the boy suddenly seemed incredibly meek and nervous. "Be-because, you know…"

"Hi." blinking, Recon quickly looked back up to see how a sudden figure had appeared out of nowhere at Leafa's side, a weirdly-dressed Spriggan who was STARING at him with a blank and utterly bored face. "I'm Kirito. Nice to meet you."

For some reason, though, the Sylph boy could only feel a chill running down his back at the gamer's emotionless words.

"U-uh…sa-same here?" fear being quickly replaced with confusion and worry (Even more at seeing the extremely ho…uhm, 'beautiful' Gnome girl staring from behind his 'friend'), Recon looked towards his fellow Sylph in search of an answer. "Le-Leafa-chan? What's going on? Wh-who is hi…I mean, who are they?"

"Friends. He saved me from the Salamanders, by the way, and she is…with him." curtly declared the blonde girl before crossing her arms under her breasts. "Now, I need to talk to them about something important, so I will see you…later, okay?"

"E-eh?! Bu-but Leafa-chan, yo-you can't just go off with some strangers without…!"

"Dammit Recon! I'm NOT a little girl, I know how to take care of myself" glaring at the boy and shutting him up, Leafa tried to do her best to not her embarrassment show on her face, purposefully not looking on her brother or his AI-friend's direction. "Now, will you PLEASE go and deliver the items already?"

Something in the girl's tone seemed to indicate to the boy that she wasn't exactly 'asking' him to do that, making him squeak and nod several times before scrambling off, but not without sending several suspicious (And not really subtle) looks over his shoulder towards the Spriggan and the Gnome…mainly the former.

"…interesting guy." commented Kirito with a still emotionless tone and crossed arms, wondering why he felt so annoyed.

"Sigh, yeah, I know, but deep on the inside he's not that ba…"

"Is he your boyfriend?" happily asked Strea while skipping to the Sylph's side, Yui also seeming extremely curious.

None of them noticed the way in which the Spriggan's eye twitched or his fists seemed to unconsciously tighten at those words.

Leafa, meanwhile…

"Wha-what?! NO!" rearing back as if the mere idea had sent a nasty blow into her psyche, the blonde girl quickly shook her head while a blush of embarrassment filled her cheeks. "He's just a friend who showed me how to play, nothing more!"

"Really? Because I think he likes you." calmly commented Yui with a small smile, not noticing how her father's eyes shot towards her before narrowing and shooting back the way Recon had gone. "I was originally programmed as a pseudo-psychologist AI, so I kind of know these things a bit. He was showing several signs of deep infatuation towards your personality, and he seems like a good guy even if a bit whiny and…"

"HOW INTERESTING, BUT IT'S LATE AND WE SHOULD GET GOING!" loudly interrupted Leafa before turning around and starting to walk away, clearly not wishing to discuss about the obvious crush her schoolmate had towards her with a little girl/Psychologist-AI, much less in front of the person she actually loved, and that just so happened to be her adopted brother/cousin. "To-tomorrow is a school day for me, so let's go to the nearest Inn and call it a night!"

"…yeah, lets." nodded the Spriggan while walking after the Sylph, his slightly 'off' tone of voice confusing the virtual sisters before they shrugged and followed. "…Leafa? I'm not really sure of how to get to that World Tree without, you know, just punching my way through things, and I already deduced that's not the best of ideas here, so…"

"Ye-yes, Onii-chan, I get it, don't worry." smiling softly at him as they reached the entrance of the Inn, the blonde Sylph did her best to hide her blush. "Tomorrow, as soon as I get back from school, I will guide you there! We will help your friends out of whatever mess they're in!"

"Le…Sugu." ignoring for a moment the effort he had been doing to not use her real name while they were in there, the gamer hugged the surprised girl, whose face heated up to alarming levels in an instant. "Thanks…you're the best sister in the world."

Then, still giving her a warm smile, the boy entered the Inn, to search for a room from where he could Log Out peacefully.

Strea and Yui took a moment to wave their hands in front of the dazzled-looking and unresponsive Leafa before shrugging and walking inside too.

"Man, your little sister is a great person, eh, Kirito?" cheerfully commented the Gnome girl while they arrived at the second floor of the inn.

"Yeah…she is." softly nodded the black-haired boy while stopping for a moment. "…sometimes I feel I don't deserve having someone as special as her so close to me…"

"Hey, don't say silly things, Papa!" chided Yui while flying in front of his face, before quickly returning to her 'human' form with a flash of light. "You're a great person! Hell, you're Aincrad's Legendary Superhero! You deserve anything good that happens to you!"

"I think you're exaggerating a bit with that statement…"

"Still, Leafa-chan is really cute, uh? She must have lots of admirers besides that Recon guy!" continued Strea with her cheerful tone, not noticing how an annoyed/worried twitch appeared on the Spriggan's eyes at those words. "I wonder if she's as cute in real life…"

"Please, Sugu is way cuter in reality." scoffed Kirito with crossed arms…before blinking at realizing how both virtual sisters were staring at him. "I…just say that aloud, didn't I?"

"Papa…was Asuna-mama right? Are you really a siscon?"

On the cage near the top of the World Tree, waiting patiently for the moment to enact her escape plan, a certain chestnut-haired girl blinked, wondering why she felt as if she just heard her Sensei screaming for her.

"…for…the last time…" trying to calm himself down after his outburst, the Spriggan panted hardly while he entered the room and both AIs followed him, sweatdropping his way. "I'm NOT…a siscon! Even if Sugu isn't really my sister, that doesn't mean…!"

"She isn't really your sister?" Kirito stopped dead on his tracks at Strea's shocked question, just realizing WHAT he had just said, as Yui stared at him wide-eyed too. "Wha-what does that mean?!"

"…she's technically my cousin." softly whispered the boy while sitting down on his bed, his gaze fixed on his gloved hands. "I…I'm adopted. My biological parents died when I was one year old, then the little sister of my mother, my aunt, adopted me. She…kept it a secret from both me and Sugu, but I found out the truth one day when I was ten, after seeing the erased documents in the National Registry." his voice filled with bitterness, Kirito's eyes closed and suddenly he seemed to be staring at something far away, to a shocked little boy staring at a computer's screen while a myriad of conflicted emotions raged inside him. "Because of that…I started to distance myself from my family and I became quite addicted to gaming. In a way…that's also what indirectly ended up with me being trapped in SAO."

"Kirito…"

"Papa…" tears on her eyes, Yui quickly crossed the distance separating her from the boy and hugged him, slightly surprising him. "I'm so sorry…"

"Yes…we didn't know, I shouldn't have tried to pry in your personal matters." hugging him too, though without her usual cheerfulness, Strea suddenly seemed sad and regretful. "Forgive me…"

"…there is nothing to forgive." answered Kirito with a suddenly stronger voice, a soft smile on his face as he looked at both surprised AIs. "It's not as if it was your fault. Besides, I can't even remember my biological parents, nor even their voices or their faces. For me, Kirigaya Midori and Minetaka are my true parents, and I was an idiot for thinking differently back then. And Sugu was always the closest person I had, yet I stupidly pushed her away for something that wasn't her fault…I wanted to fix that. All of it. I like to think that I'm starting to do it." letting himself fall back on the bed, the Spriggan's eyes suddenly seemed lost on the ceiling. "But this night clearly has shown me that I still have a long way to go. To think that in two months I didn't even know that she had started playing these games…" opening his menu, the boy pushed the Logout button and stared for an instant to the confirmation window that popped up. "…if I even hope to save Asuna, Keita and the rest, then I can't rely only on senseless strength. I need to remember how to a good brother…a good Hero, too." sending one last look at the virtual sisters, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders after sharing that story, the gamer smiled brightly at the returned members of his 'family'. "Goodnight, Yui, Strea. See you tomorrow."

With those words, the boy's consciousness abandoned his Avatar, which immediately seemed to fall asleep with a peaceful face while the virtual sisters watched on with tender smiles.

It seemed like an incredibly beautiful and peaceful moment that nothing could possible bre…

"…say, Yui-nee, you noticed it too, right? How she is head over heels for Kirito too?"

"Yep. Though now that we know this, it doesn't surprise me that much. Papa is a beautiful person, and she had known him the longest, it's only natural that she's also attracted to him. Besides, Japanese laws allow cousins to date and even marry each other!"

"Yay! She's both cute and lively, so I don't mind sharing Kirito with her too!"

"…that reminds me…how come you haven't told Papa your feelings yet, Strea-nee?"

"Well, figured it wouldn't be fair to get ahead of the others, so I will wait for one of them to do so before doing it myself! Besides, the more the merrier, right?"

"I'm not sure if that's how that human expression works…but if it's for Papa's sake, then you can count on my help, Strea-nee!"

"Yay, the operation 'Kirito's Happiness' officially begins!"

…on the real world, while taking off his Nerve Gear, Kirigaya Kazuto felt an endless amount of shivers assaulting him and wondered why he suddenly felt so scared for the future.

Deciding to wave it off as some kind of paranoia caused by the constant madness in his life, the black-haired boy nodded to himself and walked through his darkened room with decisive steps, opened his door…and almost crashed with Suguha's pajama-clad body, the girl having been standing there with a raised hand. Both siblings squeaked before almost tripping with each other, but they managed to catch the other's arm in time to stop that.

A couple of seconds of awkward silence passed before they stared at each other and laughed, the lively chuckles echoing in the hallway seeming to take all tension away.

"…I guess you wanted to talk, uh?"

"Yes…you too?" getting a nod from her brother in response, Suguha looked down with a blushing face before walking back towards her room, surprising the boy for a moment before he followed after her, his eyes roaming over the plush toys over the bed, the AmuSphere on the small table and, to his surprise, a big poster of ALO on the ceiling. "So-sorry if it's a bit messy, I-I just got changed after Logging Out and…"

"I just realized, but…" interrupted the boy with a surprised expression, making her look at him with confusion. "This is the first time I have been in your room since forever."

Realization dawning on her face, Suguha realized he was right. Even when they started to bond again thanks to One Punch-Man, they would always get together on his room to watch/read the series…but they had never really bothered going to hers. In fact, the last time she could even remember Kazuto being on her room was when they were kids, looking worriedly over her after she almost drowned in the pond and he saved her.

"You are…right."

"Heh, only shows again that I'm not a really good brother, if I haven't even been once in my sister's room in years." sighed the gamer while looking around again. "I may have known more about you if I had done so…"

"Do-don't say that!" stopped him the girl while grabbing one of his hands with hers, letting Kazuto notice how warm they were. "I…I should have told you I had started to play ALO. I mean…I only did so in the first place to understand what did you like so much about videogames, when you were trapped in SAO, but…I ended up, like…falling in love with that world, you could say." her cheeks blushing at muttering words so close a topic she wasn't quite ready to talk about just yet, the kendoka was glad that the moonlight filtering through the window wasn't strong enough to let him notice it. "I think I understood, a bit, why you tried to escape your pain in that other world…when I fly in Alfheim, it feels…"

"Like magic, right?" whispered Kazuto while smiling softly, putting a hand over her head as she looked up at him. "As if, suddenly, you had many things you always thought impossible at the reach of your hands. As if you were able to become someone you never dreamed of being if you just try hard enough…"

"…yes." softly replied Suguha, her eyes never leaving his.

"Well…I should have told you about what really happened in SAO long ago too. And about what happened yesterday, I should have explained it better instead of just letting you comfort me…let's face it, I kind of suck as a brother." softly putting a hand over the girl's mouth to silence her protests, Kazuto tried to not think about how that made his cheeks burn slightly. "I trust you, Sugu. I want to be close with you again, to understand you better…so, in favor of that, let's talk, okay?" letting go of her and sitting at her bed's edge, the gamer patted his side as he had been doing lately when alone with her, signaling for Suguha to sit down at his side. "I will carefully answer any question you have."

"…then I will do the same, Onii-chan." smiled the kendoka while sitting close to him.

For the next hour, they talked. She asked for details, about his adventures, his friends, his 'Saitama'-like powers, the things he had seen, the things he had done…

And he too asked in return, about how long she had been playing, about what kind of world Alfheim was, about the tournaments she had been in, about her love of flying…

Of course, both of them left a bit out. He didn't tell her about how is time as 'One Punch-Gamer' had been 'affecting him' in real life. And she didn't tell him she had become a bicycle-riding 'Heroine'.

There were some secrets that the siblings apparently weren't quite willing to share just yet, it seemed.

It was a bit late when the boy stood it, kissed her forehead and wished her goodnight, but Suguha was unable to remember that tomorrow she still had school, too lost in all that they had shared…and in the soft feeling of his lips against her forehead. She would take quite some time in falling asleep.

Kazuto, for his part, would cover himself with his sheets lost in similar thoughts, which also included his worry about Asuna and the rest…and a repeated effort to tell himself that there was nothing strange in kissing his little sister's forehead, and he WASN'T blushing every time he recalled it.

And the moon shone silently over a Changing world, as the night moved on…

0000000000000000000

"…uh? Where am I?"

Looking around, Suguha found herself extremely confused. She remembered falling sleep on her bed after her long talk with her brother, but now she was floating in some kind of endless white void…

Was this some kind of dream?

"About time you showed up, Master!"

Blinking in utter surprise at the sudden and strange voice (Which sounded slightly like hers), Suguha turned around to face…her bicycle?!

"Wha…?!...Ju-Justice? Is that you…?"

"That's right, in the flesh! …well, more like in the metal, rubber and all that, but you get the idea." 'sighed' the bicycle before 'looking' straight at the shocked kendoka. "Now hear me clearly, Master! How can you be so naïve?! Do you realize what you have promised?!"

"Uh, ehm, wha-what? So-sorry, I'm still trying to deduce WHAT it means for my sanity that I'm suddenly dreaming about my bicycle talking to me…"

"Ugh! We will go nowhere like that!" suddenly, the vehicle seemed to 'disassemble' itself, before, somehow, reforming into the katana the girl knew as 'Justice's Wings', only for a flash of light to make LEAFA herself appear and grab it, though the open-mouthed Suguha noticed that her eyes were a metallic black instead of the usual green of her ALO Avatar. "There! Can you take me seriously like this, Master?!"

"…now I think I'm starting to go insane inside my dreams while still feeling pretty sane…that can't be good…"

"Aaargh! Will you please get a hold of yourself?!" shouted Justice while swinging…herself? around, making the black-haired girl sweatdrop. "Don't you realize you have seriously jeopardized your chances with the idiot of your brother?!"

"Wait, what?!" all attention returning to her as any thoughts about how this was a sure sign she was mad disappeared, Suguha's attention snapped towards her sword/bicycle/doppelganger. "Wha-what do you mean by that?! I-I just promised that I would guide him to the World Tree to save his frie…!"´

"EXACTLY! And that 'Asuna' girl is between those friends, remember?! The one he's always talking about and that showed up in 90% of everything he told you before?" seeing the dawning realization on her 'Master's eyes, Justice suddenly seemed to let out a big sigh of relief. "You get it now? He's already talking about her most of the time, maybe even thinking about her too! And you should have seen HOW he looked yesterday while riding me when he came back from the hospital, all angry and sad! What do you think is going to happen when he heroically goes in saves her with his awesome Saitama-like superpowers?!"

As if to illustrate her point, Justice quickly slashed at the air and let an image of Kazuto with a faceless pretty girl (None of them had ever seen how Asuna looked, after all) that was caressing his cheek as they stared lovingly at one another appear, before their faces started drawing closer and closer until…

"Noooooo!" tearing the image apart with a 'Justice Tackle', Suguha turned around to face her bicycle/sword with teary eyes. "I-I don't want to lose Onii-chan! Bu-but what was I supposed to do, tell him I wasn't going to help him?!"

"No, but you could have tried to offer your help in a way to became closer to him!" shaking her head, Justice quickly pointed herself at her surprised master. "There is nothing to do now for you but to press forward, Master! You will have to use your charms to make him fall in love with you before you reach the World Tree!"

"E-eh?! What?!" her face heating up at the thought, Suguha suddenly looked gloomily to the ground (?) of that empty space. "Bu-but…that's impossible for me. I'm not charming at all. I'm not even feminine enough, just a burly girl who goes around hitting criminals on her bicycle…"

"WRONG!" the doppelganger's sudden shout startled the young girl out of her self-pity, seeing with surprise the fire burning on the metallic eyes of Justice. "You're a Heroine! And you're extremely pretty, Master, don't ever doubt that! That brainless idiot of your brother would have to be completely retarded to not notice it!"

"Yo-you really think so…?" asked the kendoka with a bit of hope in her voice.

"I don't think so, I KNOW it! Now wake up and start thinking how to get the love you deserve from that idiot, Master!" then, the doppelganger looked to the side and pouted before whispering something else. "Even though he doesn't deserve you…I'm the only one who deserves to be at Master's side…"

"Wait, what was that?" muttered Suguha in confusion, not having properly heard the bicycle/sword/spirit/whatever's last words.

"No-nothing! Now wake up, Master, or you will be late for school!"

And with that, the white world around the confused young girl vanished.

000000000000000000000

November 10th, 2024. Kirigaya Household, 10:25…

Humming softly as he finished eating a sandwich that Sugu had been kind enough to leave for him before going to school, Kazuto couldn't help but reflect on all that had happened the day before, and the 'mission' he still had before him.

No matter what happened, he had to save Asuna and the others. And with Sugu's help, he would do it. And if anything tried to stand on their path…well, that's what his fists were for, right?

But before all of that, he needed to fulfill the promise he had made with himself and tell Argo and the others about what he had 'discovered'. The heart-to-heart he had with his adoptive sister the past night had made him realize even more that there were things you didn't keep a secret from those you loved.

He was still debating who he should call first when someone rang his doorbell, making him blink in confusion.

"Maybe mom forgot something…?" idly wondered the gamer before heading towards the door…and freezing at, after opening it, seeing who was at the other side.

"Hey there, Kii-bou." greeted Shiori, hands behind her head as she grinned at him. "How are you this morning?"

"So this is Kirito-sama's home…i-it looks beautiful!" bashfully commented Saori while looking to the side.

"Sachi, don't act so stiff. We were all living in the same house for months, remember?" looking to her friend with a soft smile, Kotone quickly turned around and gave the stunned black-haired boy a wink. "Hey there, Kirito."

"Ki-Kirito-san, w-we're honored t-to be in your ho-house!" giving a deep bow as she blushed, Keiko tried her best to keep a 'serene' tone in her voice. "Forgive our intrusion!"

"Hey now Silica-chan, don't try to go all 'honorable ninja in front of her master' here!" happily laughed Rika while messing her friend's hair, ignoring her shout of 'Mouu, Liz-saaaan!' as she chuckled. "Friends and fellow Heroes should be more open and relaxed with each other!"

"E-everyone…wh-why are you all here?! A-and how?!" clearly not knowing if he should be freaking out or not, for some reason, Kazuto shakily led the girls inside his home. "I-I never told any of you my address!"

"Strea sent it together with her message last night…weren't we supposed to gather to discuss THAT and something more?" confusedly asked Shiori while looking at the clearly shocked gamer.

"S-Strea did…?" before he could keep talking, however, the group was interrupted by the sound of the boy's phone ringing. Still a bit stunned, Kazuto shakily answered the device. "He-hello…?"

"Kirito! Yay, it worked! Can you please put on the speakers?"

"Strea?!" his declaration making everyone go wide-eyed, the gamer quickly did as the girl said and put the phone close enough for everyone to hear. "Ho-how did you…?! What…?!"

"Hey, I'm here too, Papa! Is everyone there already?"

"Yu-Yui-chan…?" shakily whispered Sachi while all the girls' eyes shone. "Is it really you…?"

"Yes, Sachi-mama! Me and Strea-nee are back!"

"We're also hacking Kirito's internet connection to call from ALO! Oh, and I did the same yesterday to find your address, sorry for not telling you, but I wanted to gather everyone together to explain things faster!"

"N-no problem, Strea…" muttered the black-haired boy while feeling a headache coming up. "Still, next time it would be good if you warned…"

"Wait, did she said 'ALO'? As in, the popular VRMMORPG that has been hailed as the 'successor' of SAO?" even as most of the girls either blinked in confusion or tried to express their happiness to the returned AIs through the phone, Shiori narrowed her eyes as she looked up at Kazuto with crossed arms. "What the hell is going on, Kii-bou?"

Somehow, the boy just KNEW this wasn't going to end well for him.

000000000000000000000 

With a tired sigh, Kazuto finished filling the several glasses he had taken out with fruit juice and told everyone that they could drink some if they wanted, at which they answered with a mix of gratitude and gloomy annoyance.

He couldn't exactly blame them, though, after what they had been discussing the last hours.

After having explained all about his talk with Agil, his subsequent Logging into ALO, the return of Strea and Yui together with his godly 'powers' and the surprising meeting with his little sister (Leaving many little details aside, of course), the girls had spent a good half hour between chewing him out for not telling them immediately and cursing Sugou Noboyuki for his supposed (Obvious) evil plot.

Then, it had come the 'hard' part of them wanting to help too, which had been what he had been worried about the most, and the WHY of it quickly became clear for the girls.

Simply put, NONE of them had an easy way of being able to Log In ALO, even after getting their hopes up at hearing their SAO Avatars could return thanks to a bug because both games had the same base system.

Out of all the group, only Shiori had enough money saved away to be able to buy the game, but the former information broker didn't have a way of actually using her Nerve Gear without giving her parents a heart attack, and there was no way she could afford an AmuSphere just to 'not worry' them, not to mention that it would defeat the point if they didn't use their SAO Avatars, which data was stored inside the once deadly-machines.

Saori, Rika and Kotone had more or less the same problem, but without money to even actually buy it, and Keiko didn't even have access to her Nerve Gear, only her pleadings that it was like a memento of hard times overcome with effort having convinced her own parents of not destroying the machine that had kept her daughter imprisoned for almost two years after she got out, but that they now had locked away somewhere.

To summary, to actually be able to have the resources to Log in ALO, the rest of the United Heroes Association would need to speak with their parents, who would then argue why wouldn't they want to use an AmuSphere, which would in turn force them to tell the truth about what they 'thought' Sugou Noboyuki, 'important and respected' member of RECT Inc., was doing with their friends, which would in turn…well, you get the idea. To put it simply, they had been forced to accept that the only one who could actually try and do this was Kazuto, who not only had the game thanks to Agil, but actually could Log In without worrying anyone around or having the fear of being discovered by his family (Hell, his sister was apparently going to help him with this). This hadn't sat well with the group of girls.

It wasn't that they didn't trust in the gamer for this (He was probably the only person in the world they would blindly trust with their very lives, no questions asked), but to just sit on the side doing nothing while he actually tried to help their comatose friends was something that made them feel useless and powerless.

Having known how feeling like that was before Sugu comforted and reminded him about Licenseless Rider's words, Kazuto was ready to try and cheer them up by asking if they wanted some ice cream (He had starting to think he was becoming addict to the thing)…when the doorbell rang again, making him blink.

"…it's so late already?" he idly muttered while looking at the clock. "Oh right, Sugu said she didn't have kendo practice today, that's most likely her…"

"Oh, don't worry, I will go get it!" quickly replied Keiko while standing up and heading towards the door, before anyone could stop her.

This was it, she was finally going to meet Kirito's little sister! She obviously didn't believe Asuna's 'joke' about the boy having feelings for the girl, of course not, buuut…she just wanted to go and see how she was, maybe even become friends with her! It would be great to know someone else who could understand the pain of being called a 'little girl'!

With those thoughts in mind, the pigtailed girl cheerfully opened the door…and came face to face with something her brain immediately told her was TOO BIG.

"…uh? Wh-who are you?" almost robotically, Keiko's head looked up (Away from those…those massive…), Suguha's words making her look at the beautiful and taller girl with a twitching eyebrow, her face still frozen in her previous smile. "Why are you in my home?"

Unable to answer, the ex-kunoichi (Still one at heart, on her own words), just STARED. At the girl that, supposedly, was only around a year older than her.

She stared back 'down' again, to a certain part of the kendoka that made even Lisbeth seem 'little' and that was up there with what she had classified as the 'Strea/Fictitious'-level.

The pigtailed girl sank to her knees, freaking Suguha out as an aura of depression surrounded her.

"My Ninja Way…only leads to Despair…"

"E-eh?! What?! He-hey, get a hold of your…! Wait…pigtails…ninja way…little girl…are you…one of Onii-chan's friends?"

Before the kendoka could even hope to get an answer, more unknown (Though in a certain way known) faces popped up on the entrance hallway.

"Hey, Silica, what's taking you so…long…?" her words suddenly dying on her mouth, Rika couldn't help but also STARE at Suguha, even as she tried to shake Keiko out her 'mysteriously sudden' depression.

"Liz? Why are you quite all of a…?" walking past the ex-blacksmith, Shiori also stopped dead in her tracks. "…sudden…holy whiskers."

"He-hey, Sugu!" looking a bit nervous, Kazuto finally came out into the hallway by himself, quickly followed by Kotone and Saori, all of them freezing at seeing the scene, though for different reasons. "…is something wrong?"

"I-I don't know, your friend here just, uhm, collapsed when she opened the door…?" ventured the confused kendoka while shaking Keiko's shoulder, though her eyes were tensely looking over the many 'pretty girls' she now knew had been his brother's close 'friends'.

Looking back, even the childish-looking girl she was trying to cheer-up had been quite close to him, and was only some months younger than her…

"…yeah, I think I can kind of see WHY she would react like that…" whispered Rika while staring silently at the girl that was two years younger than her.

"…that's…your…'little' sister?" asked Kotone with a disbelief-filled voice.

"Uhm…yes?" answered the gamer while looking around, feeling he was missing SOMETHING, but his brain was screaming at him to not ask. "…is something wrong?"

"N-no, Kirito-sam…I mean, Kazuto-kun, nothing is wrong…" nodded Saori while still staring at the young girl, who was now staring back with a calculating gaze.

"Oh, oh, we met her yesterday! Is she really cute in real life too?!" happily asked Strea from the phone, making Suguha blink and look at it in surprise.

"Strea…san? Is that you?"

"And me too, Leafa-san!" happily added Yui, deciding to not add a 'mama' to her name (Some parts of their 'plan' still needed to be 'refined')…for now. "…oh, sorry, it's Suguha-san in real life, right?"

"Ye-yes…uhm, so….what's going on here?" finally questioned the younger Kirigaya while looking at everyone.

She only received silent stares and awkward smiles in response.

On the middle of it all, the black-haired boy kept feeling utterly lost.

000000000000000000000

It was a bit later when the girls excused themselves and started heading out back to their homes, after having talked for a while with both Kirigaya siblings, thanked Suguha for her help to save their trapped friends and also reminded Kazuto several times of not doing anything stupid while he traveled to the World Tree.

For some reason, though, despite the apparently calm atmosphere, the smiles on everyone's faces and Strea and Yui's cheerful comments, the gamer had still felt as if he was in the middle of something about to explode.

"…you have…interesting friends, Onii-chan." neutrally commented the kendoka once the others were out of view, Strea and Yui having hanged up a minute ago after saying they would wait for them in the inn. "They seem like…good people."

"Yes, they are. They became very important to me while I was in SAO, almost like family." muttered the boy with a soft smile, even as Suguha looked down at his words…only to be surprised when he gently squeezed her hand. "Of course, I'm also happy about being back with my other family. Mom, dad…and with you, Sugu."

"Onii-chan…" smiling brightly at the boy while squeezing his hand back, the young girl quickly dragged him back into the house and up the stairs. "Quick, we have a long way to go! Let's help the rest of your friends!"

"Sugu…thanks." the boy's words make it clear that he wasn't only talking about helping him and the others. "Oh, and I'm really glad you and the rest got along so well! I was kind of nervous about it, for some reason, but it all turned out okay!"

"Yeah…" replied the girl while remembering the strange reactions of the girls at seeing her, then the calculating stares, not to mention the fact that she had been keenly aware of how they looked at her brother several times. "If you think so…"

"I know it! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they were talking about you right now!"

Meanwhile, a couple of blocks away…

"…so, what do you think?"

"…I used to think Asuna was the biggest 'threat' for any of us to have a chance with him, but…damn."

"Bu-but, yo-you don't really believe Kirito-sama is a sis…that, right?!"

"If you had asked me yesterday, despite that 'slip' of his back then on the hot springs, then I would still have said that it was Aa-chan's crazy jokes getting into our heads, but after actually seeing his 'little' sister…"

"There was nothing little about her."

"Li-Liz, do-don't go around saying such things!"

"Why?! It's the truth! Hell, I'm the older one here and even I am feeling jealous! Just look at how she left poor Silica!"

"…world is unfair…a kunoichi must endure…horrible despair flooding my Ninja Way…"

"…I wish Pina was here. He always knew how to snap her out of something like this."

"…anyone else finds weird that one of the persons we relied the most on to be voice of reason was a virtual dragon covered with feathers?"

At Kotone's question, the group (Sans the still mumbling Keiko) stopped for a moment, as if to ponder about it.

Then, they shrugged and kept walking.

Worries about the possible 'likes' of their shared crush aside, they still needed to do SOMETHING to try and help their friends from this side…

000000000000000000000

A bit later, the elevator's doors opened at the top of the Tower of Wind of Swilvane, letting the group of 3 (Plus one pixie) step out of it, a mildly annoyed Kirito dragging the wide-eyed Leafa while Strea chuckled and Yui grinned in a very Argo-like way.

"Well, that was that." cheerfully commented the pixie from her place on her sister's shoulder. "You surely showed that guy, Papa!"

"It wasn't anything." mumbled the boy while walking towards the edge of the tower. "We're in a hurry anyway…"

"Wa-wasn't anything?! You punched Sigurd halfway through the city!" half-shouted the Sylph while her brother finally let her go.

"Hey, he deserved it!" scowled the Spriggan while crossing his arms. "And I DID warn him that he would eat my fist if he didn't stop talking about you as if you were a trophy to show around! It's not my fault he didn't listen!"

"I never said the bastard didn't deserve it, just that you may have gone a bit too far." sweatdroped the girl, a part of her accepting she had felt an excited glee when her brother stepped in front of her and then punched the jerk of her ex-party leader, the cocky smile on the older Sylph's face evaporating being the last thing she managed to see before he flew backward like a cannonball, went through the Tower's doors and then crashed against the roof of a house near the outer walls. The other open-mouthed Sylphs on the room had been still trying to understand what had happened when they had entered the elevator. "Weren't we supposed to keep a low profile and not drag attention while we do this?"

"Yeah…but…"

"Aww, don't be like that, Leafa-chan!" sang Strea while putting an arm around her shoulder, making the blonde girl squeak in surprise. "After all, shouldn't you be happy that your brother is willing to kick (More like punch) the ass of anyone that bothers you?"

"A-ah, uhm…" looking to the side with a blush, the Sylph gripped the handle of Justice's Wings (The katana humming encouragingly) while pouting slightly. "I-I'm not a damsel in distress that needs saving, you know?"

"Ye-yes, sorry Su…Leafa, I mean." sighed the gamer while looking down in shame, earning a surprised look from the present females. "It's just that…when he was about to touch you…"

Honestly, Kirito knew he should have acted a bit calmer, as he had been doing till that point by facing the cocky Sylph with his 'Saitama-face', but when they had turned around and started to walk away and Sigurd had tried to grab Leafa's arm while shouting for her to stop ignoring him…

Suddenly, the boy had found himself making a conscious effort to not PUNCH the bastard that had tried to touch his sister with his 'real' strength. He still had sent him flying away, yes, but he knew the shock would have turned into freak-outs and reports to Admins if Sigurd had actually lost his whole HP and exploded into a Remain Flame inside a Safe Zone, which the city was.

"Onii-chan…" softly whispered the girl before walking at his side and making him look up again. "It's okay, I'm not mad at you or anything. It's just…I'm kind of used to solve my messes by myself, so…"

"That's not good, you know?" interrupted Yui while flying to her shoulder, the black-clad pixie smiling brightly at the surprised Sylph. "Loved ones should help each other when they can! There is nothing wrong with asking for help to do something you can't do alone."

"Yui-chan…"

"Yay, Yui-nee is full of knowledge, as always!" added Strea while swinging her arms over both siblings, trapping everyone in some kind of awkward group-hug. "Now, shall we get going? Asuna and the others are waiting!"

Blinking in surprise before sharing a chuckle, Kirito and Leafa nodded before she opened her wings and starting flying up, she and the Gnome looking on as the Spriggan crouched down and prepared himself to ju…

"LEAFA-CHAN! WAIIIIT!"

"Oh God, no." whispered the blonde girl while resisting the urge to facepalm, Kirito having stopped on his tracks as they all turned to look at Recon's panting form emerging from the elevator. "Recon…"

Honestly, hadn't he understood that morning when she told him she was fine in the school?! And what part of 'I will be absent some days, don't worry' hadn't he gotten?!

"Wait, Leafa-chan! Yo-you're really going to Alne with hi…uhm, with them?!" seemingly panicking, the Sylph boy also took flight and floated towards his friend's side. "Yo-you can't do that! Didn't you hear what just happened with Sigurd?!"

"I did. I was there, Recon, and don't act all concerned, you don't really like that jerk either." coldly answered the girl while trying very hard to contain her need to shout at the boy, telling herself he was only trying to be a good friend. "He got what he deserved."

"O-okay, maybe that's right, bu-but why would you go all the way to Alfheim's main capital with people you barely know?!" apparently realized he was shouting, Recon looked from Strea to Kirito with panic before lowering his voice and getting closer to Leafa, making the girl develop a twitch on her eyebrow. "Yo-you don't know if they aren't planning anything shady or…!"

"Recon, please, shut up." freezing, the boy looked with surprise at his friend as she took several deep breaths, as if to calm herself down, before she looked at him with a calm and relaxed smile. "Do you trust my judgment?"

"Uh?! Ye-yes, but…!"

"Then do you think I would go anywhere with anyone if I wasn't really sure I can trust them?"

"N-no, but…!"

"And do you think I would go away from Swilvane for so long if it wasn't something REALLY important?"

"I…I…" looking down in defeat, the Sylph boy seemed suddenly depressed before brightening up as he raised a fist. "Okay, then I am going with…!

"No." simply cut him Leafa, crushing all his suddenly renewed hoped.

"Eh?! Wh-why not?!"

"Weren't you supposed to do something important for Lady Sakuya? You were bragging about it all of last week, when we joined Sigurd's party." seeing a sudden look of 'Oh, I almost forgot!' appearing on her friend's face, the blonde girl had to do a conscious effort to not kick him back to the tower. "See? Now then, see you later, Recon. O…Kirito-kun, Strea-san, let's go!"

And without saying anything else, the Sylph shot forward through the air, Strea happily following after waving one last time at the depressed-looking boy, who landed near Kirito.

In a sudden burst of courage, though, Recon turned around and pointed at the still unmoving Spriggan.

"Hey you! Yo-you be-better not try anything strange with Leafa-chan, o-okay?!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, however, the green-haired boy felt a shiver run down his back, all the primordial instincts ingrained in his human brain suddenly screaming in panic for no apparent reason.

Slowly, Kirito half-turned to look at him and, for an instant, Recon could have sworn he suddenly saw him with toned muscles highlighted by his no-longer silly-looking costume, his face a carpet of ever-lasting darkness and the eye looking at him only a white circle of endless nothingness…

"I could say the same to you." whispered the gamer with a voice that, despite holding no emotion, scared the other boy so much that his AmuSphere's safety features almost kicked in and Disconnected him from ALO.

Then, the moment was over and Kirito was turning around, once again looking only like a silly-dressed and normal Spriggan…who suddenly JUMPED up and forward like a meteor, a wide-eyed Recon falling on his ass as he saw the other boy cross the distance the girls had flown through already in an instant.

"Hey, Onii-chan!" greeted him Leafa as he shot past them and landed far down on the ground, before starting to run at their pace. "…say…Recon didn't say anything weird or stupid to you, did he?"

Jumping up back to them for an instant, the gamer offered his little sister a wide and innocent smile.

"Nope, not in the slightest. Now, let's get going before we end up having something else delaying us."

With a comprehensive nod, the blonde Sylph hurried her flying speed as the Spriggan fell down again and also accelerated a bit, enough to be just behind his little sister as she guided them through the unknown land, casually swatting aside any mob stupid enough to try and attack him.

None of them noticed how the virtual sisters exchanged a mischievous smile before hurrying after them.

000000000000000000000

"…I shouldn't have tempted Fate." groaned Kirito while looking at the12 Salamanders blocking their path across the bridge that led to the subterranean city of Legrue. It had already been annoying enough to have to go through the mountain (The Flying Altitude Limit sadly didn't go over it) because it was the only path from Swilvane to the Capital of Alne, where the World Tree was, but this…"Why couldn't have I kept my mouth shut…?"

"Onii-chan, now is not the time for that." chided Leafa while closing the message that Recon had just sent her, a bit too late, that there was trouble heading their way. "I have a bad feeling about this; it seems WEIRD that the Salamanders would just come with a force like this to try and stop 3 Players…"

"Maybe all the guys from that race are just jerks?" ventured Strea while Yui looked with idly curiosity how the 6 strongly-armored fairies blocked the path with their shields while the other 6 prepared their staffs to cast magic should they try to advance.

"That's an interesting theory which I sadly don't have neither the time nor the mood to test." tiredly stated the gamer before walking forward, not worried at all even as the Salamander's mages started chanting to cast their spells. "Hey, you all! Would it be too much trouble for you to just, you know, let us pass? We're in a bit of a hurry here…"

For all answer, the Spriggan received an endless volley of fireballs, which consumed his entire form.

Leafa flinched and couldn't stop the gawking worry that filled her from manifesting, despite her brother having showed her repeatedly that he could do feats at the same level of the Caped Baldy himself.

Strea and Yui didn't even blink as they watched with carefree smiles as the sighing boy emerged from the inferno with nothing but a bored look, to the Salamanders' utter shock.

"Guess that's a no…okay then, you already used your fancy magic. Now it's my turn to show you MY magic…!"

"What? Are you serious?" shouted a Salamander mage while pointing at him. "Whatever you did to not be killed by our spells aside, do you really think one of the Spriggan's illusion Spells is going to save you? Don't make us la…!"

"Uh? Illusion what? Oh, no, I can't cast those Spells, I know, I already checked." calmly waved it off the black-haired, making his 'opponents' blink. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I can't cast magic at all. You know, normal people can't do magic and all that…"

"Then…what the hell do you mean with 'your magic'?" asked a confused Salamander tank, deciding to ignore the senseless parts of the boy's statement.

At hearing the words…Kirito grinned.

"I CAST FIST!"

BAM!

000000000000000000000

On the golden cage near the top of Yggdrasil, Asuna sat calmly on her bed, in a meditation-like position.

She was currently indulging in her favorite relaxation technique of imagining all the horrible ways in which she would ruin Sugou's life once she got out of there, to try and keep herself calm. After all, the Bastard King had taken away her chair after his last escape attempt, so she couldn't use it to relieve her frustration by swinging it against the cage.

Still, a part of her felt quite happy knowing she just needed to wait A BIT longer. Next time Oberon showed his ugly face for his usual 'gloating time', she would enact her plan, and finally get…

Her train of thought came to a screeching halt when her eyes suddenly shot open, the instincts she had developed for almost two years activating for the first time in two months and screaming at her that she was in danger.

Shooting to her feet, Asuna's gaze swept around the cage and the branch on which it was, then the open sky surrounding it. She frowned.

There was nothing there. And now, her instincts had calmed down again.

That was WEIRD as hell. After all, nothing had triggered her battle instincts since she woke up stuck in that cage (Sugou only triggered her murdering/annoying ones). That was to be expected, because in this world of fairies there was no real threat to her life, so…

What exactly had she just felt?

Unknown to the confused girl, upon another branch, a silent, humanoid figure looked down at her.

Its dual-colored 'eyes' didn't miss a single one of her movements…

000000000000000000000

On a bench in the small city of Legrue, Kirito sat impatiently while looking from time to time to the unmoving form of Leafa, the Avatar currently empty and under his care while Suguha checked out something weird that apparently was going on with Recon in the real world.

"I cast fist!" happily proclaimed Yui while doing a fake-punch towards Strea, who faked a pained sound as she fell backward several meters away, making the small pixie giggle. "That was awesome of you, Papa!"

"Nah, not really, just a joke from an old game I remembered…" idly commented the Spriggan while looking once again at his adoptive sister's Avatar. "She's taking her time, uh?"

Too busy staring at Leafa, the gamer didn't notice the playful smile appearing on the Gnome's face as she skipped closer to him.

"Maybe she and Whiny-kun had to catch up for a bit?" ventured her with a bright tone, using her own personal nickname for Recon. "We DID leave him back there all depressed, and who knows, they're close friends in the real world, so…"

Sadly, Strea was unable to keep enjoying Kirito's every-moment-tenser expression at her words, because the blonde Sylph chose that moment to stand up again with alarmed eyes, looking towards her brother with worry.

"The Peace Conference!"

"What?" was the boy's eloquent answer even as the girl started to sprint towards the city's exit.

"Nagata-kun…uhm, Recon, that's it, just discovered Sigurd had been having dealings with the Salamanders behind our race leader's back!" informed the Sylph as they started heading towards the second half of the Legrue Corridor, the one that led to Alne. "The bastard sold them the location of where she and the leader of the Caith Siths are going to meet to create an alliance between our races to try and conquer the World Tree together, and now a bunch of them is heading that way!"

"That's horrible!" gasped Yui from her place on Strea's shoulder before looking towards her father with worry. "Papa, if they kill the Faction Leaders, they will…!"

"I know." answered Kirito while narrowing his eyes, the gamer easily remembering the absurdly unfair advantage one race could gain over other in ALO if they managed to kill the currently elected 'Leader' of the faction. Basically, the Salamanders were about to screw over all Sylph and Caith Sith players for a good time. "Where is the meeting being held?"

"In a clearing some distance from the Corridor's exit! Why do you…?" Leafa's voice was suddenly cut out when she felt her brother's arms grabbing her body bridal style, her arms gripping him almost in reflex. "Eh?!"

"Grab tight, Leafa."

"Hey, don't leave us behind!" happily shouted Strea while jumping forward and closing her arms round the Spriggan's neck…just in time for all females present to start screaming when the boy shot forward and ran across the tunnel like a living bullet, two of them in excitement while the last one in fright.

None of the spawning mobs of the corridor had enough time to even understand what was happening before the blur of speed that was the gamer shot past them.

It hadn't even been 10 seconds when the light hit them all head-on and the wide-eyed Sylph suddenly found herself soaring through the air in her brother's arm, the black-haired boy having jumped the moment he exited the cave.

It felt almost magical and, for an instant, she was tempted to just close her eyes and relax against him…

"I SEE THEM!" suddenly shouted Kirito, snapping everyone out of whatever daydream they were in and letting them see the flying army of almost 70 armored Salamanders on the distance, heading towards an open area where a small bunch of other players could be seen. "Shit, they're about to arrive!"

"We need to do something, fast!" shouted Strea while, as if by instinct, starting to fly, 'carrying' the gamer as a blushing Leafa did the same and got out of his arms, though still grabbing one as she also raced through the air.

Wide-eyed, Kirito looked from one to the other before realization hit him.

"THAT'S IT! Throw me!"

"Uh?" said both girls while looking in confusion towards him.

"Papa, what do you…?"

"No time to explain, just keep flying as fast as you can and THROW me that way!"

The girls' faces illuminated, all of them realizing what exactly he wanted.

On the clearing, Sakuya of the Sylph grimaced as she gripped the hilt of her katana, even as, at her side, Alicia Rue of the Caith Sith just scowled with annoyance towards the incoming Salamander army, her tail all stiff.

Even if they weren't being led by HIM, both Race Leaders knew that between them and the 6 escorts each had brought they would have still been overwhelmed by the 68 Salamanders soldiers.

Despite that, neither of the two was going to go down without fighting with tooth and nail.

The doomed group was already preparing to take flight and confront their vastly superior enemy…when a blur of black and white shot through the air and crashed with a massive bang against the ground in front of them, stopping the Salamanders dead on their tracks.

The leaders and their escorts themselves also stared with absolute shock at the big crater that had formed between both parties, even as the form of a Spriggan clad in the weirdest costume they had ever seen emerged, arms crossed as his cape flapped epically at the wind.

Two certain Salamanders from the army squeaked in horror/surprise.

"Hey, Salamanders…I'm going to have to kindly ask you to not take a step further." declared Kirito while looking at the almost 70 veteran players before him with an utterly bored face.

Total disbelief and even some snickering was the answer to his words.

"Oh yeah?" amusedly asked the only fire fairy that wasn't wearing a helmet, who was also leading the army and clearly held a different air from the rest of them. "And who do you think you are, to make such a demand?"

The suddenly smiling Spriggan's next words sent chills (For the Salamanders) and a strange feeling of hope (For the leaders' groups) running down the back of all the presents.

"Just a Gamer playing as a Hero for Fun."

000000000000000000000

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW!

"…Suguha-chan…you didn't have to hang up on me so fast…eh? A-ah! Uhm, hello everyone, this is Nagata Shinichi, Recon of the Sylphs in the virtual world, and I'm here to give you the next chapter's preview…whatever that is. Ehm…next time, on 'One Punch-Gamer': 'Hidden Feelings'. As a journey comes to an end and the time of reencounters approaches, the Maiden of Justice will finally open her heart, ready to face the consequences…!…wait, what does that mean? And why does it give me such a despairing feeling?! Aaah, I should better Log In again, Suguha-chan may need my help to save lady Sakuya and-!"

END OF THE PREVIEW!