The Kendo Club: Playing for Keeps
Chapter One: Acting on Instinct
A/N:
WARNING: STORY CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Hey, readers! How's it going? Formalities aside, here's the point of this authors' note. Back in January, I got a review for the original TKC (The Kendo Club) that really made me think. About a week ago, I looked back on TKC, then thought, "Oh, crap! He was right!"
If that seems vague to you, then congratulations! You get a cookie!
Anyway, here's the point. That review made me seriously think about rewriting TKC. So, like I said, I took another look at TKC about a week ago, then immediately set to work. This is what came of it!
So, let me make this clear: this will be the only rewrite of The Kendo Club. If this one fails, there won't be another. The sequel and prequel will eventually be updated, but they will no longer be connected to the old TKC. They will instead be linked with this story, even though I have no plans of revising their first chapters.
Okay, that's enough out of me! I hope you have a good read!
See ya at the bottom!
Tick, tock, tick, tock—
I bored holes in the clock with my tired eyes, doing my best to stay awake long enough to hear the bell ring. Of course, this left my mind completely devoid of whatever formulas my math teacher was spewing out of her mouth at the time, which I knew would inevitably lead to having late-night cram sessions with my few friends. I wasn't bad at math. It was quite the opposite, actually. I just had the attention span of a fruit fly when it came to listening to teachers in class.
Tick, tock, tick, tock—
I could feel myself losing the battle against my drowsiness. The sound of the clock was just too calming, and for some unknown reason, I couldn't hear a word coming from the teacher's mouth. Just as I felt myself slipping into dreamland—
"Kazuto!"
The hell?!
The teacher's shout seemed to come out of nowhere, shocking my senses until I was wide awake. I quickly raised my head up and looked around, noting that several of the kids around me were quietly snickering, some trying as hard as they could not to burst out laughing.
Deciding to play off of the kids' amusement, I laughed nervously, putting my right hand behind my head. "What'd I miss?"
The teacher only narrowed her eyes, trying to control her anger. "Answer the problem on the board, please!"
I looked to the board, finding the problem to be an exact copy of one of my recent homework problems. My photographic memory came to my aid, and so I walked up to the blackboard. I wrote the answer down, then turned around.
Silence. All traces of amusement vanished from the room as everyone stared at me in shock.
Kazuto Kirigaya had done it again. He had slept through almost all of the class period, then answered a complex equation flawlessly, without even showing his work. How the hell does he do it?
That's what the waves of anger radiating off of my teacher told me she was thinking.
"I'm right, aren't I?" I said, giving her a smirk. When I received nothing but a nod in reply, I walked back to my seat, my smug look not leaving my face for a second.
I sat down, and not a second later, a loud noise nearly ruptured my eardrums.
BRIIIIING!
My smirk changed into a genuine smile as I got back up, packing my supplies into my bag. I then slung the bag over my shoulder, heading out the classroom door.
Thus ends the school day. Time to get the rest of my stuff and head for the clubroom.
As soon as I exited the classroom, I made a beeline for my locker. I was careful not to run too fast, so as to not stand out. After all, I had an image to uphold as a lazy gamer. I couldn't let my rigorous daily exercises get in the way of that, could I?
When I arrived at my locker, I found a note taped to the outside. I peeled it off, beginning to read its contents.
"Come out of hiding."
That was all it said.
Don't tell me… they've tracked me… all the way to my freaking locker. This is just great! Just as I thought I was forgotten! I thought, exasperated at their persistence. Who was I talking about? Well—
"Kazuto?"
I cast a sideways glance towards the locker to the right of mine, finding my best friend and next door neighbor, a midnight-haired girl named Sachi Takamachi. As usual, she was one of about four girls in the entire school who could make the tacky girls' uniform look good.
My gaze turned from her to her locker, finding that there was a note on hers as well. I reached for it, but she got to it first, taking it and reading it herself. After a few seconds, she crumpled the paper up, and we both opened our lockers simultaneously.
I opened my mouth to say something, but she put a finger to her lips as she looked over at me. We extracted our things from our lockers wordlessly, then left for our club room.
"So, I'm guessing they found you?" Sachi asked me as we walked. I could just barely hear her quiet voice over the roar of students, but I heard her well enough to understand.
"Yeah, looks like it," I told her, sighing greatly. "Don't worry, though. If I don't respond for a while, they'll eventually start looking somewhere else."
"If you say so," Sachi said, looking down. I could feel the sadness in her voice, and I knew exactly what she was thinking.
She's afraid that if I go back, I won't have time for her and the club.
"C'mon, stop with the sad looks!" I said cheerily, putting my hand on her head. "There's no way I'd leave. Trust me on that."
I removed my hand from her head. She giggled, then looked me in the eyes with a smile on her face. "Thanks, Kazuto."
Before we knew it, we had arrived at our clubroom. The words, 'Computer Research Club' were written on a banner above the doorway. We walked in, and I was immediately greeted with the sight of a blond-haired teen clad in a beanie and a light jacket running at me. I soon found myself in a headlock, and it took all I had not to use my skills to break free.
"Yo, Vice Prez!" he said gleefully, only releasing his hold on me when he heard me start to gasp for air.
"Hello… to you… too… Ducker…" I panted, giving him a smile once my breathing returned to normal. "Nice hold. You're definitely getting better."
"Thanks!" he replied, allowing me to walk past him. "I've been working on it all weekend!"
Please… don't remind me that it's a Monday…
I walked up to the club president, Keita, and put my fist out. He bumped it with his own, and I said, "Hey, Club Prez."
"Hey, Kazuto!" he replied jubilantly. "So, how was your day?"
I sat my bag down beside me, pulling out my personal laptop and putting it on the desk in front of me. "Oh, you know. Same old, same old," I said as I opened it up, then typed in the password. "I fell asleep in math class again, then pissed the teacher off by answering the problem on the board correctly without showing my work. Anyway, what's new with you guys?"
Just as I said that, the last two club members walked into the room. Pleasantries were exchanged between us all, and soon enough, they had all logged in to the school computers. We looked to each other, then all nodded at once. We turned our heads back to our respective computer screens, then clicked on our first taskbar shortcuts: the shortcuts to our newest 'research topic', an MMORPG called 'Sword Art Online'.
Though we were technically called the Computer Research Club, we could literally get away with doing anything we wanted as long as we twisted our purpose for doing it into some kind of research. Such was the case with Sword Art Online, which had been our 'research topic' for the last month and a half. I had been playing it much longer (about half a year, actually), and had introduced it to the club out of sheer boredom one day. They all took a liking to it, and it then became our go-to game to play every day after school.
Where was I? Oh, that's right.
Once the login screen pulled up, I typed in my game ID and password.
Game id: Kirito
Password: ************
I hit the login button, and I was brought up to my last save point, which happened to be just before the seventy-fourth floor boss room. Judging by the closed boss door, no one had taken it on yet.
Well, that's just fine. I can probably solo it easily, just like I did with the last one.
I heard someone walking up from behind me, and I recognized the pattern of footsteps as Ducker's. "By the way, congrats on soloing the seventy-third floor boss last weekend! Dunno how you did it, but it must have been hella hard!"
"Well, not really," I told him as I moved away from the boss room. "I have a pretty full bag of tricks."
I won't be able to solo it here without everyone finding out, so I'll just do some more grinding. That never hurts.
"I'm curious, though. How did you do that?" Ducker asked me.
"Trade secret," I said, an amused smile playing at my lips. "Sorry, man."
"I heard you told Sachi!" he countered, feigning hurt feelings.
My smile disappeared.
Did Sachi tell him that I told her? Well, I guess it doesn't matter.
I met his mock glare with an amused smile. "Well, that's different."
"How so?" Keita asked, walking over to us.
And now there's another person involved.
"She's the princess of my next door castle. Of course her next door prince would tell her a royal secret," I said, just barely keeping a straight face.
Wait for it…
"You said it was a trade secret," Ducker said, giving me a smirk.
There it is.
"Yeah, well, you can be quiet," I said angrily, though the smile on my lips gave me away.
Everyone laughed, and soon enough, we were all 'researching' Sword Art Online.
Guys… I love you all. You're my best friends, and the best club I could ask for.
That's right! Die, trash mob!
It had been a while since I started 'researching', and I had been grinding up for the next boss fight the entire time. I had reached level ninety-five about thirty minutes in, and I knew that by the time I stopped grinding to head home, I would easily be strong enough to take on the boss. Speaking of time…
I looked at my watch, and I gasped at what I found. "Crap, it's late! Guys, I gotta go!"
"Where to?" Keita asked me. "I can drive you."
He doesn't want me to walk alone, eh? I know I get picked on, but still!
"It's all right, man. I'm just going home," I said, giving him a smile. "Thanks for the offer, though."
"Well, okay…" he replied, his tone filled to the brim with concern.
"C'mon, don't worry!" I said, shutting my laptop and putting it in my bag. "I'll be fine!"
It's my problem, so don't try to fix it! I thought bitterly.
"Well, I'll come with you," Sachi said, logging off of her school computer. "I've got to go home, too, so we might as well go together."
As soon as she finished packing her things, we bid farewell to our friends, leaving the school.
As we walked on the sidewalk of a street, I could feel it again.
I had a strange ability that gave me premonitions when something bad was about to happen (though on rare occasions, the premonition will be about something good). They always came true, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. Thus, I learned to just sit back and wait for them to happen rather than try to stop them. Of course, a recent one made me contradict that rule. I had been trying as hard as I could to prevent it from happening. Even so, the feeling kept getting stronger with each passing day. But I digress.
Something's about to happen, I thought to myself, a frown appearing on my face. If I had to guess, I'd say it would be—
Just like that, I found my face being put on a collision course with the ground. On instinct, I put my right arm in front of me, and when it made contact with the ground, I pushed off at an angle, causing me to roll sideways until I was sitting up. I then stood up, giving my aggressor a glare.
"Hey, Kuradeel. How was your day?" I asked him, voice dripping with venom. "Oh, don't tell me. It sucked ass because you couldn't find me to make fun of me in the halls, right?"
"You son of a—" he started before taking a deep breath. "What are you doing walking on my street, Kirigaya?"
"Fuck off, ya dumbass," I spat. "It's a public street, so it's not like you own it."
That particular comment earned me a punch to the face, to which I responded by grabbing his fist as he withdrew it. I then jerked him forward by my captive arm, pulling him past me with alarming speed. When he was far enough behind me, I let go, causing him to stumble, then fall to the ground.
I cast a glance at Sachi, who seemed paralyzed with fear. My face softened, then quickly contorted in anger as I looked back at Kuradeel.
Sorry… but I won't bow down to this guy. Not today.
"Look, I haven't had the best of days," I hissed at him. "So if you want to get your ass handed to you on a silver platter, then be my guest and keep attacking me. But if you don't want to go home with bruises all over you, then I suggest you get the hell out of dodge. Your call."
"You arrogant prick!" Kuradeel shouted, getting up and running at me.
Ass kicking it is, then!
As he ran towards me, I felt another premonition.
This one's positive… let's ride it out.
Just as he grabbed my shirt to keep me still as he attacked, I heard a familiar feminine voice shout out at Kuradeel.
"Kuradeel, stop it! You'll make us look bad!"
And there it is!
"A-Asuna! What a lovely surprise!" Kuradeel said nervously, like a deer caught in the headlights. "We were just having a little fun!"
What a splendid cover-up from the ultimate suck-up, I thought, my sarcasm unmatched.
"I never knew that getting punched in the face was so much fun," Asuna said dryly. "Besides, from what I saw, you would easily lose to him."
Wait, she saw all that?! Well, I don't think she'll tell, so it's fine.
Kuradeel growled ferociously. "Fine," he said quietly. He turned away from us, beginning to walk away.
That's right, I thought, smirking. You'd better walk away.
I glanced at Sachi, watching as her entire body, tensed from fear, gradually began to relax. As soon as she seemed calm, I turned to my 'savior', who was smiling apologetically.
"Sorry about him," Asuna apologized. "He's not really the most polite person on the fencing team."
Gee, you think?
"From what you said earlier, you weren't doing that because you cared, right?" I said dryly. "You just wanted to save face for your club. Or did I misunderstand your words, Flash?" I spat her nickname like venom, giving her a glare with the force of a thousand suns.
She matched my glare with one of equal force, then turned to walk away. "See if I ever help a jerk like you again."
It's not like I'll need it.
"Eat me, don't forget to write!" I said, smirking devilishly when I saw her turn around with a face red from anger.
"Go to hell, Kirigaya!"
With that, she ran off.
I began walking in the opposite direction, Sachi falling into step beside me. We didn't converse at all, and it was only when we arrived at our street that Sachi broke the silence. "You really should be nicer to her. You know, since she tried to help you and all."
No… did she just scold me? The world must be ending soon…
"The apocalypse must be tomorrow if you're lecturing me today," I voiced my thoughts.
"Kazuto, I'm serious," Sachi retorted, gripping my face and turning it towards her own. "You should be more careful with whom you act like that."
"Okay, I get it," I caved. "Now, could you please let go of my face?"
"R-right," she stuttered, releasing her hold on my cheeks and turning away.
"Anyway…" I started. "Sorry for making you worry like that. It's just… I've told you about my premonitions, right?"
When I received a nod, I continued. "I've been having a really bad one for about a week. It's been getting stronger every day, and I can tell… something really bad is gonna happen to someone who doesn't deserve it."
"Kazuto… who are you referring to?" Sachi asked me, giving me a look that said she was already catching on.
I can't tell her… I can't tell her that she's the one I'm talking about. But it looks like she might figure it out anyway…
"…"
If she realized, she might try to distance herself from me, and then it'll definitely happen. But if I don't tell her and she doesn't figure it out… she might slip up and let it happen. Damn it! This is the one premonition I want to change, but no matter what I do, it's a zero-sum game!
"… It's me, isn't it?" she asked uncertainly, causing my eyes to narrow.
"Yeah… every time I feel it coming, I see a mental image of you alone, so I've been trying to stay as close as possible. Sorry. That sounds really creepy, doesn't it?" I said, laughing in spite of myself.
"No, it's not creepy at all! Actually, it's kind of romantic," she said, her cheeks dusted with a light pink.
The… hell? Why is she…?
I looked around, noting that we had almost reached our houses. "Hey, Sachi?"
"What is it?"
"Would you please stay at my place tonight? The premonition is really strong tonight."
"Sorry, Kazuto," Sachi said, giving me an apologetic smile. "But my parents and I are going out to eat."
I did my best to act like I was okay, but ultimately failed. "That's all right. Just… be careful."
"Well, duh!" she said, giving me a toothy grin. "I'm always careful!"
"Sure, sure," I bantered back, finally cracking a smile. "Well, good night!"
"Night!"
With that, we walked towards our respective houses, opened the doors and went inside.
"I'm back," I mumbled, knowing full well that my 'mother' wasn't home.
Except that I don't have a mother. Even my sister isn't really my sister. My whole family is a sham.
"Brother!" a voice said from around the corner, its source walking up to greet me.
Speak of the devil.
The girl in front of me had medium-long ebony hair, steel-gray eyes, and was about half a head shorter than me. Suguha Kirigaya, my supposed 'sister'. In reality, she was my cousin.
I ignored her, maneuvering around her and entering the main hallway of our abnormally large house.
She knows… they both know… that I'm not their direct blood. They just took me in out of pity, that's all.
I clenched my fists as I walked, my thoughts raging as they always did when I thought about the current family situation.
Well, I don't want their pity!
I soon arrived at the door to my room. I opened it, walked in, and nearly tripped on a stray shirt due to the darkness that filled the room. I then decided that I should probably wait a bit for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.
I'm like a freaking bat, I mused, smiling bitterly into the darkness.
Once my eyes had fully adjusted, I maneuvered around all the clothes and computer parts strewn across my bedroom floor, sitting down at my desk. I pulled my laptop's charger out of my bag, plugging it into a wall. I then pulled out my laptop, plugging it in and opening it up. Clicking on my SAO shortcut from the taskbar once more, I was brought to the login screen. I typed in my username and password.
ID: Kirito
Password: ************
I looked at the screen in disbelief.
The hell?! The boss door is already open!
I entered the boss room, finding no one there but the boss.
Looks like I just missed a failed boss raid. Well, let's make this boss soloing a success!
An hour later, I had successfully soloed the boss known as the «Gleam Eyes».
I like how they put those symbols around in-game things. It's a nice touch.
I felt a yawn coming on, and I knew that I didn't have much time left in the waking world. I looked at my nightstand clock, noting the time to be after one AM.
"Uwaaah…" I yawned. "I should probably go to bed soon…"
As soon as I found a save point, I utilized it and logged off. I shut my laptop, then walked over to my bed. As soon as I came near it, I collapsed onto it, the day's fatigue catching up with me. Just before I fell asleep, I managed to squirm myself under the blankets.
Well… looks like I'll be telling everyone about my latest boss soloing tomorrow at club. Now…
"Goodnight… world."
With that, I fell into a deep sleep, filled with dreams about my favorite MMO.
Ugh… I don't want to get up yet…
Sunlight streamed through the open blinds of my bedroom window. It seemed as if the sun had the innate ability to find my eyes when I tried to sleep, even with its incredible distance from the earth.
Wait… sunlight…? But I usually get up before dawn!
I opened my eyes in a panic, sitting straight up in bed. I whipped my head around to look at the clock, finding that it had stopped ticking.
No, no, no!
I bolted out of bed, putting on a fresh school uniform in light speed, packing my things and running out on my room in a flash. I skidded on the slippery floor of the hallway before regaining my balance and running all the way down and into the front room. As soon as I got there, I looked at the digital clock in the front room.
"Eight o'clock?!" I shouted. I looked around the front room, finding Suguha on the couch. "Why the hell didn't you wake me up, Suguha?!" I shouted, causing her to turn around in her seat and face me.
"You ignored me last night, so this," she said, pointing to the digital clock on the wall. "Is payback! Besides, I don't have school today, so it's not my problem!"
I then noticed the distinct lack of pressure on my mind.
No… no! The premonition is gone! That means… it came true!
"You idiot!" I shouted, heading for the door.
"What?" Suguha asked me innocently. "You're just a little late for school.'
"But… no… I have to find her!"
With that, I bolted out the door, leaving a very confused Suguha behind.
I ran with blinding speed, past my own limits. My vision tunneled until I could only see what was directly in front of me. Everything else seemed to blur out of focus.
Come on, please let her be okay! Oh, who the hell am I kidding?! I just hope she's alive!
A few minutes later, just before I reached the school, all of my worst fears were realized. Sachi's parents' car…
Was totaled.
Another car had rear-ended it, and from the looks of it, they seemed to be unconscious. But I didn't care about them.
I rushed to the scene, going around front to assess the damage. When I got there, I found Sachi's parents stumbling out of the front doors of the car.
"Mr. and Mrs. Takamachi!" I shouted, running towards them.
Sachi's mother, Ritsu Takamachi, was the first to respond. "Kazuto? Why aren't you at school?" she said, trying to feign being okay.
"Running late," I replied impatiently. "But that's not the point! What happened? Are you two okay? Where's Sachi?"
Sachi's father, Daisuke Takamachi, was the next to respond, talking from where he stood, trying to open the back door to the car. "We're fine, Kazuto!" he said before pointing to the door. "But I could use a hand in getting this door open! Sachi's in there!"
I wordlessly ran to him, grabbing the car door and pulling with all my might. He joined in once more, and soon enough, the door came flying open. I immediately crawled in, knowing that Daisuke wouldn't be able to fit into the tight area. I looked at Sachi for the first time since I got there, and I was horrified at what I saw.
The entire front of her face was covered in blood, and I could see a gash in the skin under her bangs. The left side of her head was saturated with even more blood, staining her midnight-blue hair with a dark crimson.
No… no! NO!
I quickly picked up her unconscious form and got out of the car, careful not to look directly at her. Tears waged a desperate war on my eyes, giving it their all to escape. And yet somehow, despite the events that had transpired, I remained eerily calm on the outside.
"Did you call an ambulance yet?" I asked Ritsu, looking into her shocked eyes with my own dull ones.
"Just now!" she shouted. I could hear the desperation in her voice, and so I did something I was very afraid to do.
I checked her pulse.
Please… don't be dead…
After a couple seconds, I sighed in relief. "She's got a pulse. It's slow, but she's got a pulse. She's alive. Still, we need to get her to a hospital ASAP. She's still losing blood."
Thank god… she's alive… were the only words my mind could conjure up at the time.
Just then, we heard the sound of sirens coming towards us. I instantly knew that an ambulance had come. I smiled.
She'll be okay now…
When the ambulance arrived, several people poured out of the car. One of the females walked up to me, followed by two males carrying a stretcher. "We'll take it from here," the female said.
She took Sachi's unconscious body from me, and I said, "Thank you, ma'am."
She put Sachi on the stretcher, and they began moving back to the ambulance. I knew I couldn't go with them because of school, so before they got too far away, I asked, "Hey, I'm a friend of hers. Would you please tell me which hospital you're taking her to? I'd like to visit."
"Tokyo's central hospital."
"Thanks."
I bid farewell to Sachi's parents, and off to school I ran. However, it was only after I left that the gravity of what happened caught up with me. Tears stung at my eyes as I ran, and before long, I could barely see through the tears streaming down my face. I closed my eyes, running on autopilot.
Why?! Why couldn't I have been there?! I thought, even though I knew full well why I wasn't.
Once I couldn't run any longer, I stopped, bending down and panting rapidly. Once I had caught my breath, I opened my eyes and looked up, noticing where I had ran on instinct.
The school's outdoor kendo practice area… great… the one place I never wanted to come back to. Damn instincts…
Just as I was turning to walk away, one of the students of the school's Kendo Club, who happened to be practicing, noticed me.
Why are they even here during school hours?
The one who noticed me came up to me, swinging his kendo practice sword, a shinai, in his right hand. He eyed me curiously, and when I didn't react, he smirked. "What's up, kid? Did you come for a practice session?"
The way he said practice session practically screamed, 'I want to kick your ass.' Thus, I turned to walk away, not saying a word. He grabbed my shoulder, stopping me. "Oh, no you don't. I've seen you around. You're the kid who hit my buddy Kuradeel, right? You're not getting away that easily."
"Don't. Touch. Me," I said, my voice dangerously low. I started to walk, but his hand held me in place.
"What's that?" he replied, his hand gripping me tighter, so tight that it almost hurt. "I don't understand chicken speak."
"Fuck it," I whispered. I whipped around to face him, jerking his hand off of my shoulder. He flinched at the sight of my expression: one of primal rage.
In one fluid motion, faster than he could react, I grabbed his right wrist with my left hand. I then twisted it until he let go of his shinai with a pained cry, causing said shinai to fall straight into my awaiting right hand. I tossed it into the air, watching it do a flip before catching it by the handle and pointing it at him.
My face must have resembled that of the devil himself, since he started backing away when he looked into my eyes. I narrowed them, then began speaking in a low, dangerous tone. "I'll let it slide this time, but if I ever see you within five meters of me or one of my friends, I will personally ensure your long-term entry to a hospital. Got it?"
The boy nodded his head, and I threw his shinai into the air above him. I turned to walk away, then said, "See ya never."
With that, I began walking to the main school grounds. After the initial adrenaline from the one-sided fight wore off, I only found myself thinking one thing.
I hope Sachi's okay…
As I always said, give something big five minutes, and the whole school will know.
Throughout the school day, word spread like wildfire about my incident at the kendo club's training area. By the end of it, the entire school knew. I couldn't look at anyone without them averting their eyes in fear. All I wanted to do was go home, game my troubles away in solitude and go to sleep.
When the final bell ended, I made a beeline for the classroom door. When I exited into the sea of students, I dashed towards my locker, weaving my way through all the students who happened to be in my way. I got my things, then started heading for my clubroom to say one final goodbye to my club mates. That's right.
I was going to quit my club.
When I arrived at my clubroom's door, I hesitated for a moment. I wasn't sure whether I should even go in or not. But…
I have to let them know what happened.
With new resolve, I opened the door, finding everyone (sans Sachi, of course) already there, presumably waiting for me.
"Hey…" I said, looking at each of them with lifeless eyes.
"Kazuto…" Keita started. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to continue. "What happened? You look horrible… and we heard what happened earlier today. What got you so mad at that guy?"
I stayed silent for a good five seconds, then started talking in a quiet voice. "I wasn't mad at him. I was mad at myself, and he got caught up in it by setting me off."
"Why were you mad at yourself?" Ducker asked me, his sympathetic tone making me feel even worse.
I looked down. "Sachi… Sachi got in a car accident. She was alive when I got there, but she was losing a lot of blood, and had a few head wounds. I'm not sure if she's alive right now…"
I clenched my hands into fists, closing my eyes to restrain the tears I knew would fall. "It's my fault…! If I had been there…!"
"Calm down, man," Keita said soothingly. "There's nothing you could've done."
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before I spoke. Once I felt in control of my emotions again, I said, "Sorry, guys. I'm quitting the club for now. There are too many memories of her here… if she dies, I wouldn't be able to stay sane."
"Don't worry, I understand," Keita said, smiling sadly. "We'll miss you."
"Yeah…"
With that, I left the Computer Research Club…
Once and for all.
A/N:
Aaaaand… we're back!
So, what did you think? Is it any better than the original?
By the way, a shout-out to my followers: the next chapters of FATAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT and FATAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT: Final Reset are both coming along just fine. I'm putting quality over quickness, so that's why it's taking a deplorable amount of time to get them finished.
Once again, I apologize to anyone who was offended by the coarse language in this chapter. I promise you, it will die down as the story progresses.
Anyway, that's about it! Here's my least favorite line!
I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations!
Until we meet again!