Solo (A Sword Art Online Fanfic) ✔

Chapter Twenty Two

I looked up eagerly at the building in front of me. I hadn't been here for a long while, and it was time to pay a visit.

"You okay, love?"

I turned to look up at Rikimaru, a smile growing on my face. He looked down at me, his eyes filled with concern.

"I've never been better."

And it was true.

After taking a small vacation with Rikimaru after we got married, we threw ourselves into clearing dungeons and doing what we could to beat this game. However, as time went on, I found myself missing an old friend.

So here we are.

"Are you ready to head in?" Rikimaru asked.

"You better be damn ready! You've been standing outside staring at this stupid building for the past five minutes!"

I looked towards the door, smiling at the newcomer. He tried to keep a straight face, but it didn't last for long. With a smile, he opened his arms which I didn't hesitate to race into. He hugged me tightly, laughing loudly.

"It's been so long!" Katsu exclaimed, releasing me.

"Too long." I agreed.

I couldn't resist from pulling him into another hug. After I pulled away, the wolves shoved their way in between us, wanting their turn to greet their old friend.

I watched with soft eyes as Katsu leaned down to greet Kuro and Gurē. Rikimaru came up behind me, slinging an arm over my shoulders. It was a gesture Katsu didn't miss.

"Are you two...?" He trailed off.

I held up my left hand, showing him the simple wedding ring. He laughed, shaking his head.

"I called it! Agil owes me 20 cor."

I blushed, but I couldn't help the smile growing on my face. He stood up straight, shaking his head again, a grin stuck on his face.

"Come on inside."

He led the way indoors, and I couldn't help but admire the way everything was put together. I wasn't a stranger to Katsu's guild, but I hadn't been here for a long time and a lot of things had changed.

"You added more windows!" I exclaimed, marveling at all the natural sunlight.

"I had had enough of you complaining about not having enough light to read!" He teased, winking at me.

I grinned, pleased that he had taken my ideas into consideration. I had mostly been teasing, but it looked so much better with all the light.

As we went farther into the HQ, more and more members of the guild could be seen hustling about. They all seemed to have a purpose, but still nodded at Katsu when they passed.

I thought about how much all of us had changed. I came into this game convinced I wouldn't let anyone get to me, but here I was with a husband and some very influencial friends. Katsu had been a bashful boy who was willing to teach someone how to whistle, and now he was the commander of one of the strongest guilds.

I sighed, once again jolted about how this game had affected us.

We followed Katsu deeper into the building, which seemed to never end. When we stopped outside of an indoor training room, I looked to Katsu, confused.

"Rikimaru, I was wondering if you could take a look at my members." Katsu said, "With you coming from the most prestigious guild, I was hoping you could help in some way."

"I'm not in the Knights of the Blood Oath anymore." Rikimaru told him.

And it was true. After we got married, the commander of the guild wanted to send Rikimaru on a long mission, which would mean leaving me for an indefinite period of time. Rikimaru decided if I couldn't go, he wasn't going to. However, the commander didn't like that and was close to forcing Rikimaru to go, so Rikimaru left.

He traded in his red and white uniform for a dark blue ensemble and hasn't left my side since.

I can't say I was complaining.

"But you still know their ways." Katsu pointed out, bringing me back to the conversation at hand.

I could tell Rikimaru wanted to, but he seemed reluctant to leave me. I sighed, rolling my eyes. He seemed to take that as consent and he kissed me before quickly joining the members in the training room.

"You two make me sick." Katsu teased.

I punched him in the arm, causing him to burst out laughing. He motioned for me to follow, before heading off in another direction. When we stopped outside of a room, which I recognized as his office, he opened the door for me.

I walked in before settling down on a bench against the wall. He closed the door before joining me.

"I really missed you, Harumi."

"And I missed you."

There was a slight pause before Katsu broke the silence.

"So, catch me up on everything!" He exclaimed, "Start with this boss story I keep hearing. You took it on alone?!"

I blushed, before launching into explaining what I had been up to since I had last seen him. We spent the next couple of hours catching up and just talking.

I had forgotten how much I missed having him to talk to. I knew I had Rikimaru, but Katsu was my best friend and it was different with him.

By the time we finally ran out of things to tell, it was dinner time. Katsu led the way to the kitchen, explaining some of the new changes to the guild's HQ as we went. When we arrived, I was pleased to see Rikimaru already at the table, having an eating contest with a couple of the members.

I watched, amused, from the doorway as Rikimaru swallowed down the last bit, before slamming his hands down on the table, and cheering loudly.

"You're married to that idiot." Katsu joked, nudging my elbow with his.

"Yeah, but he's my idiot." I giggled.

Rikimaru heard my laugh and looked around until his eyes landed on me. His face immediately brightened as he tossed me a sheepish grin.

The rest of dinner was just as chaotic as the start of it. The guild was mostly boys and I felt outnumbered, but everyone knew I could handle myself, so they weren't surprised when I initiated an arm wrestling tournament.

We were in the middle of it, and I probably would have lost sooner if I hadn't had the waist chain I recieved from the boss equipped. I was about to finally lose - to Katsu himself - when I recieved a message from Kirito.

I frowned. I hadn't heard from him in awhile. This must be a serious issue. I broke away from the match, ignoring the groans of the onlookers.

I pulled up my menu and opened the message, anxious to see what it said.

"There's a boss fight on the 75th floor." I reported, "A party was already killed, and they are gathering several of the best players to go against it."

I turned to faced Rikimaru and Katsu.

"They want all three of us." I told them.

I sighed, upset that reality had arrived so quickly. This day had been great, but I guess sooner or later it had to end.

Rikimaru, knowing exactly what I was thinking, pulled my hand into his, giving it a small squeeze. I smiled gratefully at him.

Katsu cleared his throat, bringing our attention to him. He grinned, his eyes growing excited.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?"