Asuna is typing…

Kazuto leaned against the back of his chair. It had been only a day since Asuna suggested that they all go away together. It was all any of their group could talk about. What swim suits to bring, what activities they could do, what to eat, and more that Kazuto had tuned out.

Asuna is typing…

He let a puff of air out of his mouth and clicked over to another tab. He scrolled down the page, seeing the various updates of the people in his life. It looked like Agil was excited for his birthday, he'd finally be of age. Agil had always had that odd obsession with bartending. Silica got a pet lizard… Liz bought another pocket knife… Klein was obsessing with another pop idol he couldn't have. Speaking of Klein, a message from him popped up in a new tab.

Klein: Yo Kazuto! I found a game you might be interested in! Seems like your thing. (6:45pm)

Curious, Kazuto clicked the link Klein had given him. The guy was weird, but his taste in games never failed. Another tab opened up and after a moment of loading a nicely laid out webpage appeared, advertising for its game; "Chronicles of the Kingdom". He'd never heard of it. From the look of it, it seemed medieval based, from the clothing to the food to the environment. Thankfully the speech didn't seem overly formal.

Klein wasn't wrong, this did look like something he'd play.

New message from Asuna.

His computer blipped once alerting him of the message, and he clicked over to read it.

Asuna: I'm so excited for this weekend! It's going to be so much fun! Which bathing suit do you think I should bring? The red one, or the blue one? (6:50pm)

After a moment of thought Kazuto clicked out of the page, deciding to reply later. He was just oddly curious of the game. After making a new account, it asked him to pick a username. Automatically he used his name, Kazuto, but after a second of thought, he changed it. Kirito. Now he needed to make an avatar. Oh! He hadn't realized before, but the game was compatible with his full dive gear! He pushed away from his desk and plugged in his gear, laying down on his bed and putting it on.

"Link Start!" He whispered to himself, clicking the on button. He really didn't need to say that, but he always felt so dramatic. The options for the avatar popped back up, now connected to his web browser. He kept his hair black, a little shaggier than his natural. He chose brown clothing, nothing too fancy, and decided to distort his face just a little so people couldn't recognize him. He changed his eyes from brown to bright blue. Once that was done the game began, plopping him down in the starting village.

"Woah…" He looked around, noticing how advanced the graphics seemed to be. He looked down at his hands flipping them forward and back. It had been months since his last full dive. School had taken over, along with Asuna, he simply hadn't had time. Kazuto looked up into the sun, the glare looked so real. The temperature was beautiful, not sticky and hot like home.

The little quest light in the corner of his visions told him he needed to go to the weapons shop and purchase the weapon of his choosing. Though it couldn't be too expensive, he didn't have any coin to start with. With a quick look at his map, he started off in the direction of the shop, wondering what he would end up with.


It took a little while, but Kazuto left the shop satisfied, well for now. It was only a starter sword and he knew he would upgrade later, but for a starter it wasn't that bad. The little light in the corner told him to head to the field and level up a bit, so once he knew where that was, that's exactly what he did.

Once he was finished with that, he rested at level 11. About the max he could achieve with the sword he'd purchased. Though the monsters had dropped a decent amount of coin, so buy a new sword later wouldn't be hard. The goal now was food. He knew the food here couldn't sustain him, but it felt right to eat after all of that.

Kazuto headed back to the village and stepped into the first tavern he found, going up to the barkeep and requesting a simple meal and drink. While he waited he leaned against the counter, tapping his fingers. Without his noticing, a woman walked up to him, standing next to him. At first he pretended not to notice her, but she made it more obvious she was there to talk to him.

"Hi there." He cleared his throat—he just wanted to eat. When he glanced over his throat went dry for a moment; She was stunning. Her hair was red, piled onto her head in loose coppery tones, some strand falling down framing her face, like someone pulled out of a Victorian picture. Her skin was soft, ever so pale. Her clothes matched the era they were in, light browns and greens patterning her dress. Her hazel eyes fluttered.

"Hello to you too… I've never seen you here before… are you new?" Her sultry voice questioned him, as her eyes moved up and down his body.

"Y-yes, I am." She smiled, seeming to like that he was new. He glanced back behind the counter wishing for his food.

"Ahem." Another voice chimed in. "Serenity, shouldn't you be stalking new players out on the field and taking advantage of their innocence?" The sarcasm in the tone was thick, and Kazuto turned his head to see a short girl with blue hair staring at them, her face looking sour.

"What, can't I have fun? Besides, this is none of your business. You don't associate with new players, now do you?" The woman, Serenity, laughed and it was a tinkling sound, rehearsed and melodic. Kazuto looked down at the counter, praying for his food.

"Beat it." The short girl spoke lowly, and Serenity growled.

"I guess you wouldn't know fun if it slapped you in the face." And with that she pushed away from the counter and sauntered off, leaving the tavern. The girl took her place, leaning against the counter with her back, opposite of Kazuto.

"She's scary." Kazuto blurted out, just wanting to fill the silence. The girl looked over, confused, before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, you could say that. So I gather you're new?" The girl looked him over. "Yeah, definitely new." Kazuto gawked.

"Wow, gee thanks." He shook his head, it seemed he'd traded one crazy for another. Finally his food arrived on the counter, which he picked up and walked to a nearby table. Without a word, she joined him, sitting across from him. They stared at eachother for a couple minutes, creating a weird tension.

"Why."

"Why what?"

"Why are you following me? Why did you make her leave? Why are you still here?" He didn't mean to sound rude, but she was freaking him out.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you want me to bring her back? I'm sure she'd love to harass you some more!"

"No! No no no that won't be necessary. Thanks." He glared at her, digging into his food.

"Sinon."

"Pardon?"

"Sinon. It's my name." She looked directly at him, and he had no idea why.

"Oh. Uhm. Ka—I mean, Kirito. Pleasure to meet you." He put out his hand, which she took after a moment.

"You too."

They sat in silence once more, and she watched as he ate, causing him to feel uncomfortable.

"So… why are you here again?" He looked up, taking a sip of his drink.

"Well. I saw her bothering you… Though I would help—which is normal for me, FYI… And now.. well… I guess there's no reason." She cleared her throat and stood up. "I'll be going now. Feel free to friend me if you like." She pushed her chair back in, and within seconds she was gone, logged out entirely.

Kirito stared into the space were she was standing, having no idea what just happened, but it left him oddly exciting. Without really thinking, he opened his menu and typed in her name. Only one appeared, and without a thought he pressed the add button.

Once he finished his meal, he glanced at the time, realizing he should head to bed. It was nearly 1am and he had school tomorrow.


With a sigh Kazuto sat up, pulling the gear off of his head. Well that had been interesting, but Klein had been right. The game was fun. The monitor of his computer was blinking, so he moved his mouse and the light blinded him for a moment. Opening his tabs he groaned. He'd never answered Asuna!

Asuna: I'm so excited for this weekend! It's going to be so much fun! Which bathing suit do you think I should bring? The red one, or the blue one? (6:50pm)

Asuna: Kazuto? (7:05pm)

Asuna: Why aren't you responding did something happen? (7:25pm)

Asuna: Did I do something to upset you? (7:40pm)

Asuna: KAZUTO! At least tell me! (8pm)

Asuna: Fine! Goodnight! (8:15pm)

Asuna: …What did I do? Please tell me… I love you. (8:45pm)

Asuna: You know something? I haven't done anything wrong, so you can shove it! (9pm)

Kazuto rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose—he was scared to check his voice. If she'd blown up his messages this much, he must have at least 10 missed calls. After waiting a moment, he found he'd underestimated. 15. 15 calls. Well, it was too late to call her now, he'd just have to deal with it in the morning. Before he went to bed he sent her a single text.

I'm sorry, I got busy, I completely forgot to check my messages. Forgive me? I love you. Goodnight.