“Klein’s a better samurai than anyone.” Black eyes were hard. Hurting. “He came in on Opening Day, and he kept his guild together. They’re alive because he believed in them and he led them. That’s what a samurai should be.” He shook his head, slow and final. “I’m just a beater. Fuurinkazan doesn’t need that kind of trouble with the other clearers.”
“You’re not trouble!” You idiot!
Black eyes narrowed. “Check your guild messages and tell me that. Heathcliff doesn’t want his people wasting time on players who’ll never make the cut for the Knights.”
That stung. Mostly because it was true. She’d argued with the rest of the guild that clearers needed to spend time helping the mid-levels get stronger. With more monsters like Pollista popping up on cleared levels, Kayaba could effectively cut them off from new recruits if they didn’t. And they were only halfway through the game. If they couldn’t replace clearers lost to high-level monsters, they would all die.
She hadn’t mentioned the plan Lisbeth and Argo – and others – were working on. Heathcliff was focused on beating the game. What Kirito had called a Dungeon Bypass was not what her commander had in mind.
We need to make sure we have enough clearers, Asuna had argued instead. The KoB are good, but we can’t depend on clearing the game by ourselves.
Heathcliff had frowned at that, but didn’t argue. Still, he preferred not to deal with non-clearers. No one on his own level had ever come close to beating him in a duel. Why would any lesser players be any more interesting?
He’s never dueled Kirito.
The Black Swordsman almost never dueled. Heathcliff drew his sword to play to the crowd; Kirito didn’t pull so much as a throwing pike unless….
Unless he means to kill.
Asuna stood deliberately straight, and sniffed. “Well, I took a day off, so it doesn’t matter what my guild messages might say.”
Kirito took a step away from the stove. “You took a day off?”
“It’s Christmas,” Asuna said firmly. “I’m bringing Yui a present. What did you get her?”
“Um….”
Guys. “Well, you can’t show up looking like that.” She advanced on him, a speculative gleam in her eye. “What did you do to those poor feathers, take a comb to them? Stay still.”
Eyes wide, Kirito froze.
Crossover Queen's Creative Chaos 
*mad cackling*
Kirito’s so doooooooooooooomed. And he doesn’t even know it yet. Of course going by canon when he finally did figure it out he was actually pretty okay with it. Or at least it was when his chronic lack of self-esteem had been bludgeoned out of the way by Asuna.
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Asuna on a mission! He has no chance at all. 😉
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So Kirito either encountered dragon fear, or realized that he will have to show the same trust to Asuna as she did to him when he groomed her feathers… And he cannot escape.
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*EG* Along with, “Wait, what if she thinks I’m fluffy? Run away!”
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Poor Kirito. He doesn’t realize that he’s been identified as something far, far worse (in his mind) than fluffy.
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*G* Poor guy. Then again, scritches….
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-insert GIF of dramatic gopher here-
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You’re the one who taught her to groom feathers, Kirito. Hoist on your own petard.
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Oh, so much. *EG*
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Heathcliff not caring about anyone not a clearer and ‘drawing his sword just to play to the crowd’ just might tip off Kirito about Beniryuu…
Asuna and Kirito are just adorable.
Sorry, Kirito, you’re not just fluffy, you’re a potential mate…
Eeeek! *ROFL*
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*G* Poor guy. Running won’t help!
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Doesn’t that just encourage them?
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Depends. Asuna’s fast enough to keep up. 😉
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>
Depends. Asuna’s fast enough to keep up. 😉
>
Top speed doesn’t matter. As long as you can get into an environment that you can move through unhindered but tangles up your pursuer, you’re golden.
And since Kirito is a ranger and Asuna has those big fluffy wings (that can be hindrances in tight quarters like a dense forest etc) only way she’s catching him is if he decides to cut across an open field.
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Ah, but Asuna also has social networks to help track him down… eventually. 😉
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Asuna is being more aggressive than her canon portrayal, it seems. Though we don’t know yet how the “Progressive” manga version (which focuses on Asuna’s POV, reportedly) will play things out.
Chalk it up to Asuna being influenced by her newly gained draconic instincts I guess. *potential mate GET* She’s not simply suggesting visiting Yui on Christmas Day, she’s flat out telling Kirito he’s going, and that he Is going to be Presentable when they get there.
Asuna “just so happens” to have some of her own personal grooming oil in her inventory, doesn’t she?
A while back, Kirito was mulling over what it meant to be a Ranger- and particularly emphasizing how one of a Ranger’s roles is to mete out justice/retribution for crimes/injustices commited in the “lawless” Wilds. That seems like a wonderful hook for MCs version of the Perils of Silica/Titan’s Hands Doom. Especially the way it was presented in canon, with the lone survivor of a Party/Guild PK’d by TH begging for Justice from the the Clearers at the Front Lines.
That sort of thing is bound to be added to Kirito’s Legend, perhaps drawing Heathcliff/Beniryuu’s attention, especially if Asuna is continuing to be “distracted” with the Scruffy Cockatrice Herder.
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Yui is very very cute? And Kirito does need the refresher course on being social. 😉
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That implies he ever took the first course on being social. 😛
Gramps had him take Kendo instead and then Kirito sneaked into the computing program.
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Point. 😉
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Sorry Asuna, that one seems to have Clue Tefton about valuing himself as well as giving himself the same slack he gives everyone else (meaning Kirito has a tendency to overly harsh toward himself for making mistakes that if anyone else made them, he would say they were understandable, don’t beat yourself up over that) . . . .
Kaoru Kamiya promises that you can beat the “you and your life matters too, you idiot!” into the heads of stubborn, scruffy-looking swordsman. It just takes a while and a lot of wear on your bokken.
(Side thought: Murphy and Family Drama! stuff can take up an awful of your time, sometimes, can’t they?)
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(Yes. Yes they do. ATM I keep having to fight for time to do edits, much less anything creative. Handcrafts, no one will bother me; trying to read or think is apparently, “You’re not doing anything, pay attention to us.” Arrrrghhhh….)
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Sympathies.
Can be tempting to make a sign that says, in bold unfriendly letters, LEAVE ME ALONE!, and hang it up by you somewhere very visible and just point to it when anyone starts bothering you. Or one that says “If someone isn’t dead or the house isn’t on fire, then go away.”
Can also be tempting to return measure for measure and interrupt them constantly when they are trying to do something they enjoy. Give them a taste of their own medicine and see how they like it.
Not saying do either to those things. Just saying that sometimes it’s tempting to do those things. Or imagine doing them. But you restrain yourself. Often by remembering that doing either of those things would mean more Drama! not less of it.
Deep breath. Count to ten. Count to twenty if you have to. Take full advantage of those times when they do leave you alone. Maybe get some relief by writing them into a story and have them get plagued by all manner of harmless interruptions, annoyances, and Murphy being mischievous you can think of – or get eaten by monsters because they didn’t listen to the hero . . . (depending on how much you want to kill them at the moment of writing)
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Sign to that effect already up. Doesn’t work.
ATM just trying to get Seeds edited, the two last sticky scenes in Sweeten finished, and all the Leatherbound bunnies caught. I’ve at least roughed out how the magical system in that world works. 🙂
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Sign to that effect already up. Doesn’t work.
Sorry to hear that.
People who don’t respect your clearly stated boundaries suck, (A sign is a pretty definite boundary line). 😦
At least you are getting some work done despite such obstacles. 🙂
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One of these days I’m going to get a place where I can collapse and write all day in bed if I feel like it. “Weekends”. I used to have them.
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