Guns, Swords, and Love 2

Chapter 23

Kirito P.O.V

              Opening my eyes, all I saw was grass and flowers moving gently with the slight breeze that was in the air. Feeling little butterfly legs on top of my cheek I swatted it away before sitting up slowly. I looked around my surroundings, seeing a spherical ceiling. It was shaped like a dome.

     This is not ALO... I thought as I looked down slightly, seeing a bridge a short distance away from me that led to a hill with a single tree on top. The tree was huge, to say the least. I felt myself being gently pulled towards the tree as I got up and crossed the bridge slowly.

      What is this place? How did I get here? I asked myself The aura here seems powerful, but pleasant. Like a sauna, but not as hot.

       Once I was in front of the tree, I got the chance to really look at it. Saying that the tree was huge was definitely an understatement. I reached my hand out in front of the bark, but I was hesitant, anxious to see if it really was a tree or something else more sinister.

       "The tree is not your enemy for as long as you are not its enemy" Someone said in my ear. I turned around quickly to see no one around me. Turning back my attention to the tree I looked up and saw many small white flowers blooming on top of the branches.

       "I've...seen these flowers before in south Japan. I never had the chance to see them like this though." I spoke softly. It was directed to no one in particular, but I held on to the hope that the woman who was speaking earlier could hear me even though I couldn't see her. Her voice seemed gentle yet noble, filled with pride just like the flowers in front of me. But it also seemed familiar, like I heard it before. But I couldn't pinpoint when.

       "Why yes, it is the budding season for the Osmanthus. I always sit under the trees' magnificent branches to smell them and be embraced by their fragrance, especially this time of year." She spoke again.

                  I smiled and nodded. Turning back around I walked a little further to find the person who was speaking to me. "Say, where are you? Who are you for that matter?"

                  Suddenly I felt a sharp throbbing pain on the side of my head and I fell to the ground, vision blurred. What the heck? My vision is starting to black on me...I saw a pair of armored yellow boots coming toward me, but I couldn't picture anything else.

         "War is upon us Kirito. You must choose your comrades quickly and gather them as we don't have much time. I will prepare you and teach you as much as I can. As for my identity...you will have to force that out of my hand, in a duel."

                                             ***************************************

                   I awoke with a start and started looking frantically for the woman that mysteriously knew my name. But instead, I found myself back inside Mr. Yang and Ms.Rong's house. Rubbing the side of my head where I felt the sword's hilt, I felt no pain or knots at all.

           So it really was a dream. A pleasant yet weird dream. That voice...I definitely heard it before. But where? Was that the same girl I heard in my last dream? When I was taken back to that fight again? But why? And what war was she mentioning? Could there be a war taking place here? Or in another virtual world? No, that's impossible, all the virtual worlds in the World Seed were supposedly combined. So where...

                 Placing my hand back down I felt a piece of paper by my right side. Picking it up and reading it I saw it was a note from Shino, saying that she left early to hunt for more food for Ms.Rong and Mr.Yang and to carry some food with us during the move. I smiled when I read that she took Llenn with her. It's good that she's trying to bond with the others.