I own nothing. This is all for fun.
Black.
That was exactly what Asuna Yuuki was seeing right now.
And it was not the "Kirito's-clothes-kind-of-black", but more the "two-years-coma-induced-kind-of-black". And, to tell the truth, the worst part was that she was absolutely not expecting that, since she spent the best part of those two years in a way-to-much illuminated death game.
And yet, Asuna, also know as "The Flash" and "sub-leader of the Knights of the Blood", could hardly rebember beeing more happy.
"I'm awake… this time I really am…"
She tried to open her eyes, but that was easier said than done. It was like someone put a whole lighthouse right in front of her. And it was night, with barely enough light to see at a meter away...
It took a while, but she finally managed to take a look at her surroundings.
"Is this… an hospital? Well, it makes sense..."
She tried to sit up, but her body was way too weak for that. She could barely move her arms. Suddently, her eyes went wide open. She still had the Nervegear on her! Still true to her title, the Flash loosed and removed the helmet in the blink of an eye, and moved it to her side.
"It's off… itsoffitsoffitsoff… no golden cages, no Sugou… it's really over..."
She let out an heavy breath, one she didn't remember holding, and tighened her grip on the Nervegear. It was over, she knew, but a part of her was still not convinced. After all, beeing taken as a some kind of sex slave\queen by a crazy, megalomaniac asshole after two years of costant life or death situations tends to do that to a person. It didn't help the fact that he actually tried to rape her, all of this while Kirito was impaled on the ground.
Now, Asuna was not exactly someone who enjoyed seeing other's sufferings, but she had to admit, to see that bastard's avatar beeing mutilated and killed, with no pain absorber, by the unbluest charming prince who ever existed? Priceless.
"Kirito..."
Of course, it was only a matter of time before her thoughts drifted towards her savior, Kirit… no, Kazuto Kirigaya. Tears started to fall from her face as she realized something.
"He saved me. He saved me again. He even managed to save Yui… just, how… how will I ever be able to thank him enough?"
From all the… "chats" she had with Oberon in ALO she knew that Kirito had visited her a lot of times. It warmed her, but the fact that the Fairy King was the one telling her, made it more bittersweet that warming. Not to say also enraging, but that's beside the point. Still she never thougth he would actually come up with a rescue. How did he even know where was she?
And how the hell did he manage to get to the top of that tree? It really was huge…
"Eh, knowing him, he probably fought his way to me across the whole game."
Asuna loosened her grip on the helmet, and summoned all her strength in a second attempt to sit up.
She did it, but it hardly felt like a victory. The sudden flow of blood from her head down to her chest made her really dizzy, so she had to lean down a bit.
It was then that she noticed all the tubes and caves attached to her arm, probably telling the doctors that her heart was still beating. She thought for a second to remove them, but rejected the idea in the end. If Asuna knew anything about Kirito, and she liked to think she knew a lot about him, he was probably coming right here, and she didn't want anyone in her room when he would arrive.
She gave the Nervegear a long look. The amount of emotions this thing gave her was really absurd. Anger, frustation, fear, sadness, regret… and the list could go on. But on the other hand, it also made her feel happy and content. Sure, it was a place where death was around every corner, that took her away from her family and old life, but it was also the place where she met Kirito, Yui, Lizbeth and all her other new friends. And, even if it took Kirito scolding her and a lot of extra time to realize it, it was a game that defined her, for good or bad.
It made her realize just how difficult her reintegration would be. Here, everyone was used to the old Asuna, the sweet and naive yough girl, second daughter of Shouzou Yuuki, CEO of RECT Icn., and unaware puppet in her mother's hands.
But now she was The Flash Asuna, sub-leader of the most powerfull guild in all Aincrad, a battle-hardened warrior who did not esitate before anything. She couldn't just pretend nothing happened.
"Sigh, this is really gonna be awesome..." she thought sarcastically to herself, but there was a smile on her lips. "At least it's gonna be worth it.". And of that she was sure.
She wiped away the last tears from her eyes, and looked through the window. The sky was really something else. So much like SAO, and yet so much unlike it. It made her feel a bit nostalgic.
She apparently gazed at the sky a bit to long, because the next thing she remembered was someone calling her weakly. She turned around and saw him.
Here he was, smiling at her like a hungry lion would smile at a piece of meat after three weeks of starvation. Well, it was a bit more romantic than that, but his gaping mouth was really funny.
Not that she could blame him. She would have done the same, if only her muscles had allowed her.
Instead, she gave him a small smile.
"Kirito..."
