Asuna quite liked riding on Kirito's motorbike. It was fast, you could feel the wind, kind of felt like you're flying. Yes, the noise wasn't that nice but you got used to that eventually. And she could always hug Kirito to her hearth's content.

Kirito didn't like it as much. Yes, it was useful but considering how soon all old vehicles should stop being used in favour of cleaner air, he wasn't happy about the fact that he had to pay for the bike to be taken away. He had admitted he liked it when Asuna rode with him though.

Now, the first time Asuna had gotten on the bike wasn't as enjoyable as now. She wasn't a fan of it back then either. It was this heavy, noisy machine that wasn't very safe actually. But they had needed to hurry, they were already late. Asuna and Kirito had been at Kirito's home, for once studying outside of the VR world, just the two of them. But then they had remembered they had a meeting with their friends at Agil's coffee shop today.

Asuna had proposed to call a taxi, she was even going to pay for it. But Kirito was having none of this, instead saying that his bike would be faster. The girl had needed a few seconds before remembering which bike her boyfriend was talking about and her face immediately drained of all colour. Kirito had told her not to worry, he had never been in accident before. And he was going to give her a helmet.

That he did, giving her his own helmet, meaning he didn't have one on during the ride. Later on, he had to buy one for Asuna, too. It was kind of illegal to drive after a helmet after all. So he had specifically invited her to come with him to the shop and choose a helmet for herself. Of course, Kirito had insisted on paying, it was a present after all, 'for putting up with the noise and danger' he had joked. (Asuna had beed kind of disappointed she wouldn't use his helmet anymore but anyway.)

Back to the story at hand. They were late and about to ride on Kirito's motorbike. After helping Asuna put on the helmet, Kirito had sat on the big machine, starting it, revving the engine a few times. Asuna had protested again, weakly, knowing Kirito had made up his mind. Then, after he prompted her, the girl sat behind him carefully.

"Come closer or you're going to fall off." He had said. So Asuna had moved closer to him. "If you want hold onto me. Might be safer so you won't fall when we begin moving."

Here Asuna had made a mistake. She said she was fine, holding to the back of the bike, just above the tire. Kirito had shrugged and slightly moved forward. Yes, Asuna thought, this was alright. Then Kirito had suddenly began moving faster and she shrieked, jumping forward and circling her arms around his middle. He had laughed a little at her reaction, promising to not move so suddenly again.

Around ten minutes later (which felt more like ten hours to Asuna), Kirito stopped in front of Agil's coffee, sitting straight on the motorbike.

"We're here." He had said. "You can let go now or I might faint from oxygen deprivation."

"Very funny." She had commented before clumsily getting off the bike, nearly falling since she had lost the feeling in her legs. Kirito had steadied her, helping her remove the helmet.

Asuna didn't hear the end of Lisbeth's teasing that day, how she was all flushed and her hair was a mess. How could Asuna explain it was all the motorbike's fault.