floor 22
18:37
"kirito, listen to me, now, look around you and tell me what you see" blesi said while not attempt to touch as he see kirito looking around to see tree and beautiful lakes nearby "trees, lakes" blesi heard him mumbled "could you describe them to me, kirito, describe it out loud" blesi asked as kirito look to the tree "all pines, surrounding, the place i enjoy to go" blesi heard this before he began to ask another question, anything to get him distracted from the memory of the past "would you like to describe the lake for me ?"
kirito look to the lake as his mind became calm seeing it as he describe it in detail "beautiful, reflecting, all blue" blesi nodded as he wanted kirito to do the next step "now, i would like you to take a deep, slow breaths, ok, remember, deep and slow" blesi does some slow and deep breath in as kirito follow along with it "breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, feeling better ?" blesi ask "yeah" just as kirito respond blesi see that asuna and the rest have arrive "wait here" blesi said as he got up to give them needed instructions
"so far it all goes, well, but whatever you do, avoid sudden movement, also ask before you touch them, klein, i need you to carry help me carry him back, remember what i just said" blesi instructed just to be sure as he walk toward kirito asuna holding onto yui hand to be safe as she saw blesi asked request before with one person on each hand they carry him back carefully
they let kirito have some time alone to calm down as blesi walk out to see the face of concern and worried around the room, he sigh as he walk to the sofa "he's getting stable" as he sat on the sofa seeing everyone remain silent after seeing what had happen, not suprising to him, but what suprise him the most was what he had heard, now he got a few question he need answers but he cant do it currently as he look to the time as he made a suggestion "i think its best that kirito need some time to be alone, you all can go eat some dinner just to be safe"
"what about you ?" klein asked
"me, well im just going to be here, i still have something to do here" blesi replied
"what about you, asuna ?" sinon asked
"im gonna stay, i still need to take care of yui for today" asuna explained the reason
"if that the case then i'll be the first to log off" klein said as he got to the log off button
"be sure to be safe" leafa said scrolling for the log out while sinon simply chose the log out button as asuna and blesi see them all log off one by one, except for alice "i think i'll stay with asuna for tonight"
"you know what they say, the more the merrier" blesi said as he pullout his handheld crossbow and put it on the table
as alice nearly mistaken it for an attempt on attack with her hand ready to pull out her sword, before blesi quickly raised his hand away from the crossbow proving he isnt doing anything with it while asuna laugh at the scene as eventhough alice looks much cuter with her cat ears compare to her underworld counterpart, she is still pretty overprotective toward kirito and anyone she cared
she remember its time to make some dinner as she quickly got to the kitchen while alice sat in front of blesi, as blesi can tell that she isnt going to be trusting him that willingly, at least through the fight and the help he gave, he just hope he can gain some trust from her, while yui in her huamn form was just sitting near alice, but blesi doesnt have to worry, since helping her papa would be enough gain some trust
as he had his hand on his crossbow, he see alice had her eyes on him, in which he curiously asked "was it that hard for you to trust me ?"
"no, i just dont trust people easily, especially in a first name basis" alice replied, "its alright, back there i still need to say thank you, if it werent for your ears, i wouldnt be able to get a good shot at it, not to mention the fact that you willing to listen to what i said when kirito was needed, it seems that you have a bit more trust in me than you expected" blesi explained while pouring a glass of tea to alice, yui, and himself he raised the cup in cheers to alice, he chuckle at the ridicilous of cheering with a cup of tea but it is a cheer he willing to take
just in time for asuna to finished dinner as he see alice made a bowl first before she go to the room seeing the situation, blesi would like to see how it goes before asuna stopped him "knowing her, she can take a good care of kirito"
"is that so, have this happen to him before ?" blesi asked in curiosity
"i wouldnt say yes, but he did remain in a coma for sometime and she is the one taking care of her before i got there" asuna explained remember the time she got to underworld
"no wonder she gets quite protective of him" blesi remember the action alice did, now understanding why she seems so eager to act like this
"if i recall we got to a fight when we first met" asuna reminded of the type she and alice fought and now she simply find the word she said at that time as funny to hear from the outsider perspective
"a fight, over him, talk about being good with the ladies" blesi was suprised seeing every ladies seems to be interest in him
"hey, its not what you were thinking, some of us love him for different reason, you know ?" blesi hear this as it seems logical with his mind think of the six different types of love from the greeks but, he have no idea what to say about it
"anyway, would you like to join in for dinner ?" asuna asked as blesi look to the meal and feeling his stomach rumbling just by seeing it
"dont mind if i do" he quickly got to his seat waiting for the meal when the bowl is served, as he see asuna call yui for the meal, while blesi look around the setting he realize there is a message on it, and he can assume who it was, but he can't read it not in front of them
as he see asuna set up bowl for yui and alice, with it he can guess how lively the dinner would have been if kirito was around, he look to the mail notification, as he got questions to get, just as alice came with blesi wanting to ask
"have he gone better ?" blesi asked as he see the bowl was all clean "he need sometime to himself, he seems to have gotten better" alice replied while blesi have a sigh of relief just as yui want to ask "can i see papa later ?"
"you can, as long as you dont startle him, best let your mother get in first, then you, if you want to give him a hug, best ask him first" blesi explained as he finished his bowl "anyway, i'm going for some fresh hair outside" blesi declared only with asuna and alice have their eyes on him in menacing glare "just outside that door, no forest" he got up as he go get the crossbow, he then check out his sword, seeing no problem, he got out of the house, enjoying the scenery around him
he took this time to look at the mail as expected it was from jakul, as the message goes :
"meet me near the lake, anytime you want" how convenient he though to himself since its been a while since they have send a mail, let alone have a chat with him face to face, especially after the lost of... her
as he close the mail, he heard the door was opened, he look to see asuna has coming out "have you seen kirito already ?" blesi asked leaning on the wall "yes, he seem' to getting more talkative" asuna added
"that a good sign, by the way, how's yui ?" blesi asked "alice is with her so she should be fine" asuna replied "what a relief, he seems to be getting well"
"by the way, can i told you a secret ?" blesi requested "i mean sure, anything you have in mind ?" asuna said "it seems that you trust me, thanks you for that" blesi said "all right then, dont be suprised when i told you this, but do you recognize this knife ?" blesi asked as he pulling out a throwing knife he used
asuna look at the knife in suprised as she remember it was the knife that was thrown back in the fight with jakul "how did you !?" asuna wanted to understand
"yes, the one that thrown the knife at that time, it was me." blesi explained "how did you get there in the first place" asuna questioned because the searcher didnt find him
"well that a long story, but to put it simply, i requested lady sakuya, and she gave me the detail of the man in cait sith, but also to look for a girl named leafa to met a person name kirito, but when i stroll down swilvane, i notice on the tower not far were them, as i realize they were targetting you, i decided to see which floor your going until i came, you were there defending kirito, as i throw the knife, buying some time, i originally planned to reveal myself, but that plan was changed as i saw your friends have arrived, with that i need you gave you an apology" blesi explained as he quickly bow down in apology
meanwhile asuna have no idea how should she react to this, him following them was wrong yet he is also the one gave them enough time for leafa and the others to arrive, she can tell he had no evil intent, as he is willing to talk about it, and he had help them twice as far as she can describe she is conflicted to say the least
while blesi wonder why everything had gotten really silent, but he do not dare to look at her straight in her face, but before he knew it, asuna wand began to pointing at him, as the wand raised his head to look at him "you know, if it werent for the help you did, i would have been very dissapointed" she said calmly before her face turned serious in seconds "dont ever do that again, promised ?"
"ye-yes, ma'am" blesi replied quickly seeing the look on her face, but asuna doesnt seems to like being called a madam "i'm not that old!?" asuna put her wand down "sorry, force of habit."
"anyway, i'm going to bed now, don't stay up too late though" she said as she got back to the house while blesi remain outside, now all he have to do was wait
19:30
floor 22
beneath the forest were the beautiful lake, as jakul stand there enjoying the view with the water reflecting the moonlight, as he closed his eyes he heard footstep behind him, and soon he heard him saying
"oi, jakul." blesi called out as he stop his footstep a few feet away from jakul
"blesi." jakul turn back face to face with blesi, while blesi see he still have the sword he once used on his belt
"i can see that you still think about her" jakul look to the sword on his belt before with the sheathed sword on his hand he pointed to blesi "unlike you, able to move on as if nothing had happen" blesi sigh hearing this "is that how you think of me all this time ?"
"sometime" he walk around looking at the tree "you may have seen my encounter with the lightning flash, so tell me, do you think she has pass down mother rosaria to her ?"
"by the looks of it, all i can say is yes, she posses the quality we do not completed" blesi think of the fight he see between jakul and asuna, and remember seeing asuna use the mother rosaria in her name simply bring a smile to his face
"true, my speed to your strength, while she got all of them, speed, accuracy, and strength." jakul knock on the tree in frustration to himself
"speaking of her, jakul, may i ask a question ?" blesi reminded of a question he wanted to ask for some time "spit it out" jakul replied attempt to hide his anger
"back then...why did you leave ?" blesi asked as jakul look to the sword on his belt before he replied with "to became stronger..." jakul look back as he reminded that blesi had join the salamander army before "what about you, why you left the guild to join the salamander" blesi became silent hearing this before he replied "reputation, reputation to the guild"
hearing this jakul chuckle "look like were not so different after all" jakul said as he look to the sword of his hand "you know they always say that a sword reflect to the person using it, and it seems we are the same as our sword" blesi remain silent understand what jakul trying to say as he see jakul pull out the menu with his hand scrolling the location he want to go with one tap on the location he look to blesi with a word "see you next time, brother" before he was teleported to different location as blesi whispered "next time... brother"
he sigh as he felt in relief, though not far from him he see a glimpse of a pair of ears, cat ears to be exact, before he call out "alice, i know your there, there no need to hide anymore" there no point in hiding anymore as alice got out of her hiding spot with blesi asked "since your a cait sith, you can hear pretty clear what he said"
"how long have you know that i was there ?" alice asked wondering what exposes her "just a second ago ?" blesi replied looking pretty laidback "is that the person that make kirito lost an arm and eye, but also, about this guild that your talking about, may i know more about it, and what does it have to do with asuna mother rosaria ?"
"well, that's a good question, well, all i can say was simply the name" blesi explained "what was the name called ?" alice questioned "the sleeping knight, mentioning this name in front of asuna or kirito will probably let them tell you what they know about them" blesi replied knowing the connection the two had while he was in the salamander camp
"is that so ?" alice, suprised to learn that the ability asuna used was coming from a friend, it peaked her interest in wanting to know more about it
"anyway" blesi yawned "i think it's best to ask this tomorrow, and if they are willing, it will probably peaked their interest in knowing more, at the very least it may be helpful to them" blesi said as he was off to bed leaving alice to process the info she had just heard
09:00 am
forest house k4
kirito opens his eyes as he see the yui hugging him as they sleep,and in front of him were asuna, he dare not to move after seeing this sight, for fear of waking anyone of them, though after that incident yesterday, he think it's best to be careful when encounter with a person like him again, as he was in though he didn't realize yui has already awake
"papa!" yui said holding to his father tighter, glad that his father was okay, seeing the sight of his daughter is enough to bright up the day, as he see that asuna had awoken as well "kirito, feeling better ?'
"yes, much better" he said as he got out of bed made a few stretches as he wear his cloak, he got out only to see a note on the table
he look to the note as it was from blesi, with it the content are as follows :
" from blesi,
left house early, be back before dinner, no need to worry" with a small chibi drawing of himself beside it, that kirito can simply smile seeing it as he heard the door behind him was opened with asuna yawning walking out of the room "mornin" kirito greeted
"mornin" asuna replied but she quicly get to the kitchen to prepare breakfast "hey, did you see blesi ?" she asked making sure she didnt overcook the proportions, "he left a note, he'll be back by dinner"
"is that so ?, well then i guess it's only breakfast for four people" she began the cooking as yui came to help with the cook, while kirito planning to wait, before alice just got back from having a stroll around the woods of floor 22
as she wanted to ask the question, something related to the sleeping knight "kirito, may i have a word with you ?" alice said as kirito wondering what alice wanted to ask "what is it, alice ?" alice wonder as she remember what she hear yesterday "kirito, may i ask what you know about the sleeping knight ?"
"the sleeping knight huh ?, i haven't heard that name for quite some time, i know that the guild have disbanded for quite some time and asuna used to be a part of it" kirito explained as he wonder how alice got this name and why would she suddenly ask about it "disbanded, may i know what causes the disband ?" alice continued her question but kirito remain in silent for a bit before he said "its a promise"
"a promise ?" alice wondered "i didnt know further detail, if you want to know more, you have to ask asuna, but it also depend on if she willing to answer it or not, you can try your luck with her" kirito noted "i won't force her if she didnt want to talk about it"
"by the way, what makes you suddenly ask this question, who told you about the sleeping knight ?" kirito asked curiously "i heard it from blesi" alice said cant find a good answer to this "blesi, how come blesi knew of this guild ?" kirito questioned this but just in time for breakfast with asuna calling to kirito and alice for breakfast
with kirito and alice going toward the table alice reminded of what blesi talk to jakul, it seems that it has some connection, it might be helpful, but she need asuna to talk about the topic that she seems to be quite sensitive about from what kirito had said, with this she think its best to wait for the right time to ask
as she look to the sandwich that asuna and yui had made she sat down as the atmosphere was quite intense only for herself, she originally planned to stay quite for some time but kirito felt the atmosphere getting quiet with them focus on their food, not that he find it off, but rather it can get quite isolated if this continue, not to mention alice seem to need a bit of a boost, so with it he decided
"hey, alice, what were about to ask asuna ?" alice was flabergasted hearing this, as she wanted to stomp on her legs at that moment just to stop him but it was too late as asuna had heard everything "something you like to ask ?"
alice hearing this can only take a deep breath before she asked "asuna, this might sound sudden and i apologize for that but, what i want to ask was, what do you know about the sleeping knight?"