Stay
.
"Haruyuki-kun, what do you do when a game finishes?"
Haruyuki blinked like an owl as he processed the question that had been spoken out of the blue. Besides him, Kuroyukihime, the tall and beautiful Vice-President of the Student council stared at him expectantly, ice-cream stick in hand. How had he gotten here again? Kuroyukihime had called him to go on a date, he remembered. They had chosen to stop to buy something to cool down in the hot summer heat, and now they were walking down the streets-
"Haruyuki?" she called again. He realised he had stopped walking altogether as though his mind had encountered an unexpected error. "Ah, sorry!" he exclaimed, and jogged to catch up. "Your question, senpai? I don't understand. When a game finishes, it's over, isn't it? Unless you want to go back and play it again, there's not much else to do, so..." Kuroyukihime pouted and huffed. "That's not what I mean!"
They walked for a few more minutes in silence, slurping their ice-cream. Haruyuki had just finished off a lime-green apple ice lolly, while Kuroyukihime was nibbling at a much slower pace at her cone of dark chocolate. The streets weren't very busy except for the electric cars passing by. Haruyuki pondered her question, and wondered just how much it had to do with the titanic battles they had just finished two days ago.
They had won. The Acceleration Research Society, The Disaster Mk II, even Metatron herself had peacefully gone on as she guarded a tiny home somewhere in the Unlimited Neutral Field. White Cosmos had ceased to exist. With Brain Burst revealed to have been a failed social experiment, the goal of Level 10 was irrelevant. The remaining Kings, including Lotus, decided to meet another day to discuss the matters of their legions, lest they end the same way as the prequel game Accel Assault. Brain Burst as a game was over.
That was what Kuroyukihime was actually asking about, wasn't it? Everyone used to fear losing Brain Burst because they'd lose their friends and relationships forged in that world, and for many others it would be losing the amazing power of Acceleration that brought them into the game to begin with. Would they hang on to Accel World like a nostalgic childhood toy, or let it become a memory?
"Senpai?" Haruyuki said quietly. The somber tone of this voice halted her footsteps, and Haruyuki looked up into the eyes of his dearest person.
"When... When I used to play the older games, those with lots of other players," he said, "I didn't think about them much. I noticed when they were logging on less often, but other than that, I never used to wonder if they were doing anything else. Then I finally gave up, and uh, started playing other games and forgot about them." Haruyuki took a breath and fidgeted with his fingers. "I won't do that with Brain Burst. I have senpai, Takumu, Chiyu, Niko, and even Pard-san... All these people I've met online and offline, I want to stay together with, so..."
A big, fat tear had begun to leak from his eyes, but Haruyuki blinked it away and struggled to find words to finish. "So, I think... What you really want to know is, would I stay with you after Brain Burst? Because, because I want to tell you, I will! I want to stay with senpai forever and ever, and we'll play other games together too, and have other happy experiences..."
"Haruyuki-kun!" A soft warmth enveloped Haruyuki as Kuroyukihime, on the verge of tears herself, closed the distance and wrapped him in a hug. Holding his ice-cream away from her, he hugged her back, and her flowery scent and warmth was all that he feel for many long moments.
"...It's embarassing," Kuroyukihime finally said as she pulled away, red-faced. "You read my mind about what I wanted to ask." Haruyuki chuckled and shrugged, and they took a turn to go back.
"You'll be online later, won't you, senpai?" Haruyuki asked as they reached the end of the path. Kuroyukihime nodded and smiled sweetly. "I have some paperwork to settle, but I will be working on some things." She blushed lightly, a tinge of red colouring her cheeks. Neither of them wanted to leave, and yet wished for the other to do or say something. "T-Thank you, senpai." Haruyuki finally mumbled.
"Thank you, Haruyuki-kun. I'll see you again!" she said.
And they would.
fin.
Author's note:
I'm back, I guess. Sentimentality is the only reason I keep writing for this fandom. I wonder if I should move onto bigger things? Do I have the time to work on a multi-chapter AW fic again?
...I do.