Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

5:00 PM, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25.
The streets of Myujen were bustling with tourists from the lower floors visiting the frontline, and frontrunners taking part in the Christmas festivities for whatever reason, while I aimlessly trudged through the glowing city streets, the snow crunching beneath my feet.

"I'm glad I met you and got to be with you."
"Thank you."
"Goodbye."
Sachi's words repeated over and over in my mind, making it hard to think. Each time a coherent thought began to form it was washed away by another line from the message crystal, and the wave of emotions that accompanied it.
"...Even if I die, I want you to keep going. Stay alive until the end of the game..."
Most of what came to mind while I walked to try and clear my head were questions. Questions I could never ask, as the person they were meant for was long dead.
I felt yet another pang of guilt and shame as that thought passed through my mind.
"That's why I decided to record this message: to tell you that it's not your fault."
I realised that I was having a mock conversation in my own head; the words she recorded for me filling in as her responses. Recognising the cruel irony of what I was doing, I let out a self-deprecating chuckle. After all, she did say she wanted to walk through town with me on Christmas.

My meandering thoughts were interrupted by a soft beeping tone. A message? From who? Stopping in my tracks, I looked around for an alleyway or sideroad to pause and read it in.
Having located a suitable alley with minimal traffic and nothing to pique a player's interest within, I took a few paces off the main road into the alleyway. Leaning my back against a wall, I found myself slumping against it as my legs gave way and brought me to the floor. The hunger and exhaustion I'd been ignoring for so long finally catching up to me.
I groaned as I tried to keep it at bay for a little longer, reaching out with a finger for the circular message icon hovering in front of me and pressing it, a menu with the message on it appearing in its place.

"Want to trade intel?"
                       From Argo

It was a simple message. Hardly an expected one. A few dozen possibilities for why I received it flashed through my mind. I couldn't settle on any particular one, much of the reasoning behind her actions escaping me at the best of times.
...I should at least respond, though. I've known her for too long to just leave her hanging, and on top of that I owe it to her after my last request.
I typed out a response accepting her offer, asking where we should meet. Not even a minute passed before I received a response.

"I'm in Myujen right now. Come here."
                       From Argo

With the message came map coordinates. Leaning forward to get up and onto my feet, I dusted myself off a little, and started towards the coordinates listed. 

For the second time today, I found myself somewhere without knowing how I got there. This time, it was probably a result of the streets blending together and my thoughts still being too scattered to take proper note of my surroundings, forming a gap in my memory and awareness. Having arrived at my destination, I looked up to see a signboard that had degraded to the point that it was impossible to decipher the establishment's name, though I could still tell that this was some sort of restaurant based off of the relatively more intact iconography. 
This far from where the city's teleport gate was, the number of players exploring the city's streets had thinned out considerably, and the cramped restaurant didn't look the most inviting either. Argo had probably picked this place out knowing full well that the location wouldn't see much traffic, leading me to believe either the intel she wanted from me, or the intel she had, was of a particularly sensitive nature. Beginning to feel a little unprepared, I gulped as I mentally prepared myself to expend a considerable amount of Cor.

Pushing the door open, a bell rang out above it, prompting the NPC at the counter, presumably the owner of the place, to look up and welcome me. Politely returning the greeting, I walked in and scanned the place to find the info broker I was here to meet. While not every single restaurant in Aincrad had the perfect ambiance, decor, or food deserving of a five star rating, this place must have been in a class of its own with how seedy and unwelcoming it was, the dim lighting of the interior serving not to enhance but worsen the look and feel of the place. It oddly struck a chord in me, even if I would rather go to just about anywhere else.

The establishment's tiny size meant that my eyes did not have to wander for long before I spotted the only other patron sitting at a table already set for two. The info broker was already looking at me, probably alerted to my arrival by the sound of the bell like the owner was. Flashing a grin as our eyes met, she beckoned me to come and sit across from her.
Once the two of us were sat across from each other, the owner came out from behind the counter to take our order, passing the both of us menus. Picking mine up, I began to read it, but I didn't get a chance to get through three items before Argo spoke up. "Fried chicken for the both of us and a beer for me."
Glancing up over the menu when she spoke, I found that hadn't even picked up her menu as she and the owner stared at me, clearly expecting me to figure out what drink I wanted. Hastily flipping to the drinks section of the menu, I ran my eyes over the selection and blurted out, "J-just some water," after being unable to settle on any of the options quick enough.

Briefly chuckling at my expense, Argo's light smile dropped as she gave me an unexpectedly serious look, knitting her brows as she looked me up and down as though she was examining me. Waving her hand in the air as if to reassure me, she said, "You don't have to be that nervous, y'know?"
Realising that my expression must've given away my fatigue, I cursed myself and the system behind SAO's facial expressions, as it tended to overexaggerate. To compensate, I tried forcing a slightly more positive expression but felt as though I could manage only a weak smile at best.
"Ah. Sorry, it must be the exhaustion showing on my face..." I cursed myself again, realising I inadvertently admitted what I just tried to sweep under the rug. She'd gone through the trouble of contacting me to sell me info or buy some off of me, not to concern herself with how I was doing. 
A brief silence reigned over the restaurant for a moment, Argo's brows furrowing yet again as I felt her gaze piercing through me. After a few moments, her expression loosened again, before she continued, "So, how was Nicholas the Renegade? I heard you and Fuurinkazan were the ones who got the event."
She smirked, probably because I couldn't conceal my surprise. Even though she's the top info broker in all of Aincrad, it never ceases to amaze just how fast she finds info. It hadn't even been a full day yet. I thought back on the events of last night, my shoulders sinking as I wrestled with the many complex emotions attached to it and the preceding six months.
Snapping out of my reverie, I managed to give an unimpressive response, "...It was a blur. I don't really remember much of it."
Argo tilted her head a little, out of what I assume was confusion about what I had just said, but she held still as she waited for me to elaborate.
"I solo'd the boss," Argo's expression went from confusion to shock that she struggled to reign in, her typically ever present nonchalance vanishing as she leaned in closer while I continued, "while Klein and his guild held back the DDA. I didn't ask, but I could guess Klein had a duel to claim rights to the event."
I inhaled sharply at the end of my sentence, a slight quiver having crept into my voice.

The restaurant went silent for what felt like minutes. Staring at Argo while I waited for further prompting, I watched as her face twisted, likely struggling to stomach my words. While I never hid my intentions of soloing Nicholas, I never bothered to explicitly confirm them, either. The fact that she had questioned me the night of the event was proof enough that my EXP grinding had not gone unnoticed. She probably didn't doubt that I was seriously going to try and solo the boss, but hearing that Fuurinkazan got involved must've made her think that I didn't go through with it. Eventually, Argo broke the silence with simple question.
"...And the rumours about the revival item?"
My heart sank and my eyes went wide as the thoughts from that night resurfaced, sending my mind racing. The guilt, shame, and despair bored a pit in my stomach. How could I have seriously contemplated murdering other players over the slim possibility of getting an item? Klein and his guild, of all people. The Sacred Stone of Rebirth couldn't have even brought Sachi back in the end. 

My vision swam, my head suddenly felt like it was going to split apart. I leaned, half doubled over, onto the table from the pain, staring at the empty plate set in front of me, unable to meet Argo's gaze. Must've been my exhaustion catching up to me. I should've slept the afternoon away.
"Kii-bou?!"
Argo shot to her feet, deepening my shame. The last thing I wanted was for someone to worry about me. To feel sorry for me.
With some difficulty, I lifted my head a few inches and tried to offer some consolation, even if it probably came out as half-hearted. "Sorry. Don't worry about it, just... Tired."
Hesitating, Argo sat back down and slowly pulled in her chair to sit closer to the table as she spoke, "...If you don't wanna tell me, you don't have to. I'm not gonna beat it out of you, Kirito."
The apprehension in her voice and expression had hardly diminished, but I didn't want to dwell on it further and worsen it with the subpar social skills of a solo Beater.
I must have looked like a complete mess for the infamous "Rat" to show me an expression of such deep concern. Composing myself a little and pulling my chair in closer as she did, I leaned back and tried to look more collected before shaking my head, "With how I've been hassling you the past few months, you have a right to hear about it."

"...You can't tell anyone else about this, but, it's real. I gave it to Klein. With me being a solo player, and him being in a guild, he's more likely to be able to put it to better use anyway."
I paused briefly, before noticing the confusion on Argo's face and realising I should elucidate on what exactly I meant. The subject of what really happens when a player dies had always been a deeply troubling one since that fateful day, the details muddied with speculation and myths that have propagated over the course of SAO's service. Having read the description of the revival item, I likely had a more concrete understanding of the process than any other player, and I couldn't leave Argo wondering what the hell I meant when she played such a vital role in the distribution of knowledge throughout Aincrad. She'd have a better idea of what to do with the information I learnt.
"It wasn't what I was hoping for... I've... Told you about the guild I joined, right? I don't remember much of what I told you. It's been a while, just... Klein knew too, so..."
Argo blinked a few times when I prompted her, mouthing an "oh" as if she realised how she hadn't said anything for a while. She then crossed her arms and was silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought about how to respond.

BANG!

Both of us simultaneously recoiled at the sound of a giant platter practically being dropped onto our table. Our order had finally arrived. The owner swiftly turned his back to us, returning to the kitchen before coming back out with my glass of water, and Argo's tankard of beer, gently placing them on our table as I thought he muttered something under his breath while sighing. It was probably just my imagination.
Argo was the first to pull her chair back in, clearing her throat and answering my question with a glint of sympathy and what I could only surmise as guilt in her eyes, "...Yeah, you did tell me, and I did sell him that information. I'm sorry, I shoulda..."
Pulling my chair in towards the table as she did, I shook my head. "No, no, I get it. It was just business." 
I hung head and carried on with what I was saying, confessing that, "...I wanted to revive at least one of my guildmates. The item said it would only work within 10 seconds of a player's death. Meaning..."
"...10 seconds after a player dies, the Nervegear cooks their brain from the inside out," Argo finished.
Yet again, silence reigned as Argo leaned back and fully took in the grim meaning of my words.
I sighed, and took a drink of the water. I looked down at the platter of fried chicken set out in front of us, and broke the silence with a simple suggestion, "...Let's eat."
Staring at me with a conflicted look before finally nodding, she joined me as we silently dug in.
The meal felt empty, even though I hadn't eaten in over a day.

"...And that's how far they've gotten," said Argo, rounding off her update of the frontline.
Probably finding the silence unbearable, at some point during our meal she began to give me a detailed report of how the Clearers had been progressing in the 49th Floor Labyrinth. It wasn't a milestone floor, but since we were almost halfway through Aincrad, it was only reasonable to expect our pace to slow down compared to the breakneck rate at which we conquered floors in the earlier days of the game.
The giant platter of chicken had been cleared out. It was a little impressive how she ate just about as much as me, when she probably wasn't anywhere near as hungry. I caught myself smiling a little bit, before I shook my head whilst heaving a sigh. Argo looked at me and frowned, no doubt cause of how pitiful I looked.
"...Kii-bou. Hey."
"If you're in a pinch, if you need anything, you can always ask me. You know that, right?"
Now confused by her words, I blankly stared back at her, not knowing what to say, but managing to get out, "Y-yeah, you've been reliable since even before day one, after all..."
The frustration on her face only seemed to grow with my response, her expression now clear as one of concern.
"Exactly. So you oughta rely on me more, okay...?"
Argo's expression softened, and she stood before leaning over the table and meeting my gaze with a piercing one of her own, infused with a forthrightness I knew to expect from her yet was surprised by all the same. At that moment, in spite of her reputation as the rat, I couldn't help but think that her eyes had a chatoyant quality that almost made them look feline when coupled with the whiskers painted onto her face.
"...Tell me about your guild. Tell me what the last six months have been like."

A silence once again settled over the restaurant. My mind went back to when the stories about Nicholas the Renegade began being told by NPCs throughout Aincrad. To when the rumours of a player revival item spread. To when I went looking for Argo, half begging, half demanding, that she find out everything she could about it, and her asking me what possessed me to seek the event out so fervently.
She was asking me the same questions as she did a few months ago. It felt different from then, yet, I couldn't figure out why. I couldn't muster up any resistance, the way I did last time. She didn't even have to press me for it. 
I began to talk about the Moonlit Black Cats. I hesitated at first, but once I started speaking, I couldn't stop. I told her about the first meeting in a dungeon. The promises I made Sachi. The days we spent together. How I saw them all die. How Keita killed himself. How I hid my level from them. How I could have saved them all. Could have told them not to open that chest. Could have told them not to enter that hidden room. Could have told them to slow down and stay away from the frontline. Could have given them the proper knowledge to survive. Instead of just power levelling them. Instead of joining their guild. 
I told her how the urge to kill Klein nearly came over me. Klein, my first friend in this world, the first one I betrayed.
I told her about the audio recording crystal Sachi left for me. I told her that...
"I don't know what to do with myself."
"I was going to die a meaningless death. I was going to make the 49th Boss Chamber my grave. For nothing."
"I was ready to throw my life away, even though-," The words finally caught in my throat, and tears began to well up in my eyes.
I managed to push one last word through the sharp breaths I was taking to choke back my tears.
"...Sachi-."
I'd lowered my head as to not have to meet Argo's gaze as I spoke, hoping to avoid judgement. Even though I'd somehow found the words, I was still ashamed to admit everything. I'd come this far, but I'd hit my limit. I went silent.
Losing the last of what little composure I had and for the second time this evening, the arms I had been using to lean on the table gave way as I started cursing and sobbing into the table's surface as I buried my face into my arms, unable to face Argo. After weeks of pushing myself beyond the limits of my exhaustion, I had reached the limit beyond my utmost. I couldn't hold on any longer. I didn't have the strength to get back up again.
With every passing second, my focus and senses slipped away from me, and I felt myself slowly passing out. 
Ahhh... I thought bitterly to myself, I probably look like the biggest idiot in all of Aincrad...
The last thing I noticed before sleep took me was the feeling of something warm covering my back.

Not knowing where I was when I woke up, I was incredibly disoriented. Shaking off the grogginess as I sat up, memories of my whereabouts slowly came back to me when I saw Argo sitting across from me, quite notably lacking her trademark cloak. Yawning, she smiled when she saw I got up, "Finally got up, huh?"
Still only half lucid, I raised my hand in front of me and swiped downwards to pull up my player menu. I noticed I had slept for almost 6 hours. It wasn't going to be long till midnight. I then noticed, or perhaps remembered, the weight on my back and reached backwards to feel out what it was. Right as I figured it out, I had gained enough lucidity to put two and two together.
Sheepishly, I managed to make an apology, "...Sorry to make you wait to watch over me. We're in a safe zone, you didn't have to."
Clicking her tongue, Argo raised her hand and wagged a finger at me like she was lecturing a child, "That wouldn't do, I pride myself on customer service, y'know? I can't leave one of my most valuable clients hanging high and dry like that."
Turning over towards the counter, where I could've sworn the owner was glaring at us, Argo called out to the NPC.
"Boss, bring out the cake will you?"
The NPC almost looked annoyed, but when Argo tossed over a 1000 Cor gold coin, he caught it and without further complaint, went into the kitchen and brought out a small and simple Christmas cake, almost entirely devoid of decoration, placing it on the table.
I was dumbfounded, and soon found the lingering drowsiness vanishing as I began to take stock of the situation. The awareness I had gained of the situation was pointless, however, as what little sense I was able to make of it vanished like seafoam on the shore with Argo's next words.
"...Merry Christmas, Kirito."

Fortunately--at least I think it was--I managed to reply, "Merry Christmas, Argo," without too long a delay in my response.
Barely above a whisper, I thought I heard Argo say, "...Good job on making it back alive, Kii-bou."
I wasn't allowed enough time to dwell on it, though, as Argo loudly cleared her throat and interrupted my train of thought.
"I know it's a shame, but we should finish this cake soon and leave. This place's supposed to shut after midnight, after all."
With that, she grabbed a knife on the table and started cutting up the cake into slices. The cake was quite small, and there was only two of us, so she decided to only cut it into six slices. She didn't waste time getting into it once it was cut, either, grabbing a slice with her bare hands and digging into it. Despite me being a complete mess, the haste at which she dug in somehow managed to stoke the flames of competition within me, prompting me to follow her example and start stuffing my face with cake as well. Its sweet taste and light texture an afterthought to winning this impromptu competition. Argo soon had to hit herself on the chest with a balled up fist as she laughed at the sight, causing her to choke as she ate.
"Nya-ha-ha-ha! Have it your way then, Kii-bou!" She got up and redoubled her efforts in order to maintain her lead.

Within 2 minutes of the cake being cut, there was nothing left to prove it existed aside from its remnants on our hands and faces. It might've been futile, but I had to ask.
"...So who won?"
Argo began laughing yet again, wiping tears from her eyes, getting more cake on her face.
"Kii-bou, you're priceless. Since when was that a competition?"
"Since-," I started, trying to come up with a witty retort, only to end up failing. I sighed, wordlessly admitting defeat.
Argo walked around to my side of the table, picking up her cloak that had fallen off of my shoulders and onto my chair while I was eating, putting it back on. She really didn't look right without it on. Maybe cause I almost never saw her without it on.
My idle musings were cut short by her speaking, "Let's get out of here, we've spent way too long in this shoddy place."
Realising that she'd spent over 6 hours in this place on my account, I couldn't give any response but a nod before waiting for her to lead the way to the door. Without even looking, Argo tossed a few coins over at the owner, paying for our meal and the cake, before walking out of the restaurant, taking in the crisp winter air as I followed her out.

The 49th Floor was one where the weather in Aincrad was synced to the seasons of the outside world, so while Christmas was over, and it had ceased to snow, Myujen was still cool enough to prevent it from vanishing too quickly. Our breath condensed into clouds as we stood side by side in front of that impressively sleazy restaurant.
I reflected upon the past day, week, and then six months. I looked at Argo, with what must have been a complicated expression on my face.
"...Thanks. You didn't have to do... Any of that."
Clicking her tongue once again, she looked at me for a second with a half annoyed expression, then raised the palms of her hands in a shrug.
"C'mon, Kii-bou. I thought you knew me better. It's only natural for me to pay you back for the intel you gave me tonight."
I blinked, wondering what intel exactly she was referring to. She gave me a detailed update on the frontline, paid for my meal, and basically threw a Christmas celebration with me. The meaning behind the choice of food finally clicked, or at least I think it did. What did I tell her that was in any way equal in value to that?
"Here, I'll even give you one extra bit of service."
I didn't realise what she was doing until she had already done it. Reflexively, I'd even raised my arms in surprise as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I was frozen. With my nerves frazzled from weeks of non-stop levelling without any rest, this, from Argo, with no warning, was enough to bring my brain to a screeching halt.
Pulling away from me after a few seconds, she met my widened eyes and gave me a smug grin.
"There aren't exactly a lot of players who know what a hug from Argo the Rat feels like. It's one piece of information I'm gonna have to trust you to not leak to anyone else, though."
She winked at me, before turning on her heel.
"See you around, Kii-bou," with those parting words, Argo headed off into the streets of Myujen. The lights from Christmas festivities were still lit throughout the town, and I found myself stuck in place, staring at her back as she walked away until she rounded a corner and vanished from my sight.

Shaking my head and blinking away what must've been residual grogginess, I thought about what to do.
Having gotten well enough rest, and with a satiated appetite, retiring to my inn room to recover didn't sound appealing.
Instead, I turned around, looking at the giant tower in the distance that rose from this floor to the next. Crawling the floor labyrinth and mapping some of it out though... Now that didn't sound half bad.
I took off running, feeling much lighter than before, attributing the sensation of weightlessness to the many points I put into agility over the past few weeks.

Chapter Text

FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2024. 14:00, AINCRAD STANDARD TIME.
Bursting forth from the teleport gate, dozens of players ran into the cramped and winding alleyways of Algade, the air abuzz with excitement as the surviving playerbase of Sword Art Online celebrated reaching a new milestone floor. The jovial atmosphere was enhanced as the NPC throughout the whole city played music, as if congratulating the players for reaching the halfway point in their ascent of the floating castle called Aincrad. Even I, a solo player, found myself swept into a celebratory mood, even joining the other frontrunners in the victory march following the defeat of the 49th Floor Boss... Not that I was being too social, even if I tagged along.

I'm filled with a sense of accomplishment, and more than that, fulfillment as I watch tourists from the lower floors flood into the city excited to explore it. It then occurred to me that I was missing out on exploring the city by staring at the incoming players, and I shook my head before taking a look around the myriad streets spiderwebbing from the town square. Even from the entrance to the floor, it was clear how large the main settlement of the 50th Floor, Algade, was. It was by far the largest city in Aincrad thus far, excluding the Town of Beginnings, which came as a slight surprise. Given the diameter of Aincrad's floors decreased the further one ascended, and this was the halfway point, Algade might actually be as large as the Town of Beginnings in terms of how much space it takes up on its floor. Considering this, I might as well start anywhere I feel like, so I shook off my indecision and started barrelling down the next path my eyes happened to fall on.

The cityscape almost became a blur as I sprinted down the almost labyrinthine alleyways, getting absorbed in the action itself as opposed to taking note of important shops for equipment and other points of interest such as questgiver NPCs. Even so, I doubted if I could really take that much in had I tried, the city was not just massive but also jampacked with places to visit and things to do. It wasn't long before I'd totally given up on it and had totally gotten into the flow of sprinting through the city streets, making a game of dodging carts and stalls, weaving through crowds, and even jumping from rooftop to rooftop as I had climbed onto the buildings to avoid running directly into people as I took in the sights. Before I knew it, I'd exhausted myself, and had come to a sudden stop at a street corner.

Catching my breath, I looked around and properly examined my surroundings. Looking around at the people passing by me, I realised all of them were NPCs as indicated by the yellow cursor that appeared over their heads when my gaze rested on them.

"...Did I really run that deep into the city?"

Running my eyes from right to left again, I caught sight of what I thought was a familiar figure in the midst of the hustle and bustle, and stopping to look at them revealed a green cursor over their head. Taking an even closer look, led to the realisation that the figure was not just familiar, but that the hooded cloak and golden-brown curly hair of their's unmistakably belonged to someone I knew very well.

Blinking to confirm for the last time that it was the info dealer I thought it was, I then take a look at what she was doing. She had her arms crossed as she spoke to an NPC that was selling weapons and armour on the street, perhaps she was trying to negotiate for gear? Or was she accepting a quest? Curiosity got the better of me, so during a lull in the conversation I stepped over to the stall and put my hand on my chin as I perused the wares on the Vendor's Carpet before us whilst trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible. After I'd sidled up to the stall, Argo was quick to notice my presence, and to then recognise me. She greeted me with an upbeat "Hey, Kii-bou," and flashed me a grin. Returning the greeting, I nodded and responded with a casual question, "So, what has you so interested in this shop?"

Uncrossing her arms and squatting in front of the carpet, she then picks up and passes a set of plain-looking throwing picks to me, telling me to, "Take a look and see."

Though they were unremarkable at a glance, I knelt down a little in front of the carpet to meet her at her level and accepted the set of the picks, trying to examine them further. Pulling up the system menu on them revealed that they had a unique, but yet unknown quality. I then understood what had given her pause. The temptation of learning that unknown quality, which could not be revealed without the help of a player or NPC that could use the Appraise Skill on it, had caught her. However, while the revelation of a unique quality on the picks had shed some light on why she'd put a hold on her city exploration, there were a few yet lingering questions.

"...So what's stopping you from buying just a few and coming back later?" I had to ask, given that despite the fact that this was a brand new floor, and new equipment, Argo no doubt had the Cor to be able to afford it.

"Read the fine print, Kii-bou..." Perplexed by her reprimanding tone, I looked back over to the menu I had not yet closed, and scrolled to the bottom. My eyes went wide as I saw the extra stipulation hidden at the bottom, just under what was initially visible, "Must be purchased in bundles of five... Thousand?!" I couldn't stop myself from reading it out loud as I parsed the additional condition.

Throwing picks, by nature of being disposable weapons with only niche uses in and out of combat, were generally inexpensive. The relatively nice ones I dished out a bit extra for out of preference were a hundred Cor a pick, and they were sold in bundles of three. These were priced a little over that at a hundred and fifty Cor, which was just past the point where I'd pass on buying them, but low enough that I would likely be reeled back in by the unknown quality. I understood the dilemma Argo had found herself in, and started groaning as I scratched my head with my free hand.

"On a busy day, I'd prob'ly find myself using three dozen picks at most... If I needed more damage than that, I'd just use my claws," she looked down and patted the pair at her waist, "And, I've got a stock that'd last me long enough. Y'see why I'm finding it hard to justify this purchase?" I swore she shot an annoyed look at the NPC merchant as she finished her sentence.

"Could you get a contact of yours to Appraise them here?" I suggested, perhaps a little too optimistic.
"I'd have done it myself, Kii-bou. Not allowed to."
"So that's what you were speaking to him about..." I made a mental note of the fact that Argo had the Appraise Skill and tucked it away before sighing defeatedly.
"Yep. So, Kii-bou, whaddaya think?" Argo continued the conversation, shifting slightly closer to me as she spoke.

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand Cor... At an extreme estimate of three dozen picks a day, every day, buying just one bunch would have you using these for... Almost a hundred and forty days..." I was dumbfounded, and had to wonder what Kayaba Akihiko was thinking when he put this particular trade in. Even though it was similarly absurd to pin the blame for the existence of a single transaction out of thousands on a single floor of a hundred on his head.

The more I thought about this bizarre trade, I found myself a lot more frustrated by this problem than I probably should have, and as I thought on it more the volume of my grumbling and groaning steadily rose with my frustration until it hit a crescendo. I shot to my feet, and exclaimed, "I can't just leave this be, Argo, let's split the trade!"
Bewildered no doubt by my sudden proposition, Argo looked up at me, and after a few moments of consideration, rose to her feet and nodded.
"Well, I'd definitely feel less cheated if this turned out to be a bad decision that way," Argo mused, "If I'm getting scammed, at least we'll be sharing in our misery, and if we strike gold, we can hit up some hole in the wall together!"

Satisfied with our accord, she turned to the vendor and started working through menus to make the purchase, a screen appeared in front of me, with the details of the transaction. Briefly meeting my gaze, Argo nodded again and the two of us simultaneously pressed the confirm button on our respective menus, and were each almost four hundred thousand Cor lighter in an instant. Argo raced through her inventory menus to materialise the picks, but I suddenly grabbed her wrist and interrupted her.

She was quick to protest with a, "H-Hey! The hell are you doing?!", prompting me to let go of her hand and mutter a quick apology, before explaining.
"Don't you think it'd be better if we went somewhere and then did it? You know, for the ceremony of it?" I tried to offer an explanation as her initially shocked gaze slowly grew more judgemental by the second.

"S-Sorry, again, I couldn't think of a better way to stop you..." I found myself apologising before she'd even said another word, and sighed as though in defeat.

Argo's expression held for a moment before loosening slightly.
"That's not a bad idea, but d'you have any suggestions? I've got a couple of places in mind, but what about you?"
Pausing to recall a few locations I saw on the way here, I turned around and looked in the direction I came, before I settled on an idea.

"Err... I do, actually. You don't mind following me, do you?"
Chuckling at my question, Argo replied in a playful tone, "C'mon, Kii-bou, as if I'd let that bother me. By all means, lead the way."

Far above the winding streets of Algade, the wind blew freely through the 50th Floor of the floating castle known as Aincrad. Leaning over a railing, Argo took in a deep breath of the refreshing air as she admired the sprawling city beneath us. The two of us were now standing side by side at the top of a belltower attached to an otherwise unremarkable church that towered far above most of the city's one or two story buildings at around a height of around thirty metres tall. 

Heaving a satisfied sigh, Argo turned to face me with a suspiciously wide grin before speaking. "I'm impressed, Kii-bou. Didn't know you had an eye for places like these... Got any other spots? I'll pay for that info."
"It can't be worth more than map data," I shot back, a little surprised.
"Oh, but it could be. Some casual players actually have written in, asking for prime date spots to visit while touring the upper floors..."
"Huh...?"

It took a moment to register her words, as I was slightly more preoccupied with the scenery, but once I had, "...Ah. I didn't really think of this place like that."
"What about it caught your eye then, Kii-bou? Tell me," Argo prodded into my thought process with an unexpected amount of curiosity.

Unprepared for this line and type of questioning, the only answer that came to mind was a frank one, "...I thought it looked cool."

"Pff."

Argo's self control held for a whole of five seconds, before she burst into peals of laughter.

Once she had calmed down, her laughter coming to a stop with one last wheeze, she cleared her throat before raising her hand and swiping down with her fingers to open her menu.
"Before we forget... Let's get to business, shall we?" With a small burst of light, three of the newly purchased throwing picks materialised in her right hand.

Taking another look at them after purchasing, they were rather simplistic in their design, like most throwing picks were. What set them apart from other were the somewhat uncommon bladed edges they possessed, as well as their notable colour, pale and almost iridescent...
Following Argo's example, I materialised three of the picks as well, even though I couldn't Appraise them myself.

Browsing through the player menu she had left open, she navigated to Skills and was ready to perform an appraisal but stopped to ask, "Wanna count us down?"
I wasn't really one for these to begin with, and it was somewhat awkward with it just being us two up here, but I saw no reason not to.
Mustering up all the seriousness and ceremony I could, I began to give a countdown.

"Ooone, twooo..."
Argo's grin widened ever so slightly, and her finger twitched as it hovered over the Appraise button.
"Three!"

Argo's finger hit the menu, and a new screen appeared with a detailed list of stats and properties belonging to the throwing picks appeared. The first, and most immediately apparent thing, was the name at the top.
"Crystallight Needles...?"

I barely got a moment to read it and think on the name before Argo scrolled all the way down to the bottom to find the unique property.
"There! Emits light when embedded into a surface, but... Shatters in a burst of light when striking an entity...?"

The enthusiasm in Argo's voice gave way to slight confusion as she ran her eyes over the line of text before her. She looked again at the throwing picks and let out a few noises as though she were pondering the effect. Eventually, she just passed two of the three in her right hand to her left, before slamming the remaining one into the wooden railing. Sure enough, after a few moments, it began shining in a myriad array of colours.
"Woah." 
The enchanting display was a pleasant surprise, and the exorbitant price tag slipped my mind... At least until-

"That's it?!" Argo yelled out as she slammed her fists into the railing on either side of where the pick was embedded. It didn't budge an inch, to its credit, firmly stuck into the wood.
"There's gotta be more to it," Argo grumbled, making her dissatisfaction clear. "Maybe the secondary effect makes up for this gimmick of a unique property..."

She put a hand under her cloak as she reached for something and pulled out a teleport crystal, "Time to hit up a dungeon to see if it's worth anything..."
My eyes grew to the size of 1000 Cor coins, "W-Wait! Don't be rash!"

"What?" She threw a judgemental look my way, "You mocking me or something?"
"Of course not," I defended myself, thinking on my feet, "I know you're more than capable of handling yourself! But you don't have to leave town and spend a crystal just to test it out!"

Slowly, the hand she had extended retreated under her cloak, as she stared at me expectantly.
Right, she wants a solution...
With as much confidence and certainty as I could put behind my voice, I exclaimed "Let's have a duel!" 

"Huuuh?!" she was clearly caught off guard enough by my proposition that she turned fully to face me and staggered backwards in shock, "What for??"
I was starting to regret my proposition a little, as I didn't expect her to be this surprised, or surprised at all, by the idea. Clearing my throat and steadying myself, I explained, gesturing at the pick still embedded into the railing.
"How else are you going to get an entity you can land a hit on in the town's safe zone?"

Argo's face went through a half dozen different expressions I didn't have enough time to read, before settling on one of discomfort for reasons I couldn't discern.
"...Don't think you have to go that far, Kii-bou. You sure you're okay with it?"
"Well," I reasoned, "I'd rather you hit me, than I hit you. I'm not a tank, but I still probably have more HP than you, so there's less risk that way..."

An awkward silence filled the space between us.

"...If you're sure about this, Kirito..."
Argo then slowly retrieved the pick that was in the railing with one hand, and then opened a menu to send me a duel request with the other. A few button presses later, a duel request menu appeared in front of me, with the conditions being First Strike and five minutes. Accepting the duel, the countdown began, and a strange tension formed as it slowly ticked down from sixty. Finding myself unsure where to look, I cast my gaze over the city beneath us.

Once the counter hit zero, the duel began, and the Anti-Criminal Code Effect Area's protections were rescinded. I slowly extended my hand, offering it up for a clean hit from the throwing pick. With some hesitance, Argo obliged, stabbing me in the palm of my hand with the throwing pick. I winced at the red damage effects that rose from the area, and watched as the Crystallight Needle that had gone dark when Argo pulled it out of the railing began to light up again. A strange burning sensation spread throughout my hand, before--.

CRASH! Mere moments after I had felt the thing begin to heat up, my eyes were blinded as the throwing pick suddenly exploded into a burst of crystalline shards and light. More from the flash than the force of the the blast, l recoiled until I had hit the railing behind me. My vision had entirely gone white, and I grabbed onto the railing to prevent myself from stumbling around while blind.

"Kii-bou!" Argo's shout brought me back to my senses, somewhat. Though still robbed of my vision, I noticed I could still see my health bar and other HUD elements. The effect I was experiencing was a full blown debuff, apparently.
Realising I hadn't responded, I raised a hand to try and indicate that I was alright before beginning to explain, "...It's a debuff. I'm a little glad these are so expensive, now... It'd be really easy to totally disorient someone if they were too cheap."
Still unable to see anything beyond the HUD elements, I suddenly received a notification of a Duel Victory. Argo must've forfeited the duel.
I then momentarily jolted at the feeling of a hand gripping my arm, quickly calming down as I realised it could only be Argo.

"You sure you're okay?" though I was unable to really see her face right now, the debuff still active after around half a minute, the concern in her voice was quite obvious. Something about this... Bugged me.

Crap, I'm still making her worry...
I still owe her from last month, and I went and did this because...
Because...?

Unable to find an answer whilst lost in my thoughts, I was suddenly brought back to reality as my vision gradually began to return, and with the grip on my arm tightening.
"Ah, yeah, I'm alright. The debuff's wearing off now..."
"That's a relief," said Argo, confusing me as there's no such thing as a permanent debuff, "you really do know how to worry people though, huh, Kii-bou?"
Finding myself annoyed again, both at my own stupidity, and at Argo's needless worry, I shot back.
"In my defense, I was ready for the absolute worst case scenario. If it was a poison effect or something, we'd have had a heal crystals for that."
Argo heaved the heaviest sigh I'd ever heard out of her in all my time knowing her, before shaking her head and lightly punching me on the shoulder.
"Ow- Hey!"

"Well, now that we've got this frustrating throwing pick fiasco outta the way, wanna go grab a bite to eat? It hasn't been that long, but I'd still like to catch up with you. Haven't heard too much about the Floor Boss fight just yet, if you're willing to share."
Argo's lips curled into her signature grin, and I felt my shoulders drop as I felt the earlier tension had more or less vanished entirely now.
"Of course, I'm more than willing to buy you..." Argo looked over into the distance, judging the time by how bright out it was, "dinner, in exchange."

I looked over towards the nearest edge of Aincrad, realising that it seemed to have gotten quite late. A minor effect of our ascent, and some would say an indication of our progress, was the fact that sunrise became later and sunset sooner the higher the floor you were on.
"...I'll tell you for free, so long as dinner's on me... I still, err, owe you from Christmas..."

Argo tilted her head at my remark, looking at me as if I'd grown an extra head.
"You just helped me buy five thousand throwing picks."
It was now my turn to be confused, as it wasn't like I had paid entirely for her. I paid for half, and got half of the five thousand picks we'd purchased earlier.
"But... I got half of them?"

Going still for a moment, Argo scrutinised me further before groaning a little.
"If you're gonna insist on paying, I'm not gonna turn down a free meal and a story. But..."

She looked away from me, now staring at at the ladder we ascended from, and would soon climb down.
"...You don't owe me for that, and even putting aside today, you never did. You paid for that meal in more than sufficient intel."
Without another word, she started descending the ladder. After a few moments to let her get a few steps down, I followed behind her, an awkward silence having settled over us for the second time today.

"Let's get going, I think I'm a bit hungrier than I first thought."
Argo elbowed me in the side once I'd gotten to the ground, the earlier awkwardness vanishing more abruptly than it had come.
"Mm," I agreed, "talking worked up a bit of an appetite for me, as well."

With our aim settled, we began wandering the streets of Algade in search of a decent spot to eat.