Hello everyone! I'm back with Chapter 3! This chapter isn't as good as the other two though. I'm turning the romantic part down in this chapter. Don't worry! I promise to put in a lot of romance in the next one. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a bit of background on Kazuto and Shino's lives since my story takes place in a different universe than the one which is canon. Anyway I still hope you guys enjoy it! I also considered the advice that some gave me on their reviews and apply it on this chapter so hopefully it satisfies you guys! Without further babbling from me here is Chapter 3!

IMPORTANT!

Italicized words outside "quotation marks" represents thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own SAO or any of its characters

It was a Monday morning and Asada Shino was walking to her school. She was entirely excited for school since she can already imagine what kind of things might happen there today. She thought that maybe she can somehow avoid her gossiping classmates but quickly gave up on it. For all they know they might be waiting for her to enter the room. She then reached the school gates and was about to proceed to her classroom when she suddenly received an unpleasant surprise.

She was already confronted by her classmates.

I never thought that they would go this far! This is seriously getting really annoying!

The thing that surprised her even more was that they weren't bombarding her with questions. They were just standing there in front of her. She instinctively stopped since they look like they were about to say something. One of them finally opened her mouth to speak. She mentally braced herself to what her classmate would say.

"Good morning Asada-san. Want to come to the classroom with us?" her classmate finally said.

Shino was really surprised that they were acting normal around her. Well, ever since Kazuto picked her up from school she wasn't bullied that much anymore. The glares that the students are giving were giving her became lighter as well. She wasn't stared at or despised that much anymore. She wondered how Kazuto's appearance at her school helped her situation and reputation. Now her classmates were even being nice to her, even going far to ask if she wanted to come to their classroom together. Seeing as how nothing bad would happen if she would agree, she gladly accepted the offer.

As they were walking along the hallways that is starting to buzz with activity her classmates were talking to one another. She knows their surnames but she would be lying if she said that she knows them. They are just people from her class and she didn't even bother to make friends there. Not to mention that there wasn't anyone in that school who wanted to be friends with her. Since her bullies were not secretive in bullying her (they were even proud of the fact that she would anything they want if they trigger her), the other students know that there is something weird about her. Almost everyone in the school knows that something wrong with her but were just too afraid to confront her with it. But all of those changed when Kazuto came to her life. He changed her. He taught her how to become strong and how to properly handle her past. He became the light to shine through the darkness every time she remembers her past. Because of him she was slowly able to overcome her fear of guns. The face of the man she shot was always pushed away and replaced by Kazuto's smiling face. Because of him her fears and break downs became manageable. And now she discovered a new effect of him on her life. The students in her school are treating her like a normal student now. It might be even possible to make friends in her school. She can still see some people eyeing her but she somehow knows that they aren't talking about her being that weird girl anymore. She then wondered the reason why they are looking at her. She would probably know later on.

She was deep in her thoughts that she wasn't able to realize that they have arrived in front of their room.

"Asada-san you seem to be thinking of something really important." one of her classmates said.

"Maybe she is thinking about her close friend." Another said in a teasing voice.

"I-I'm not thinking about him!" she replied in a flustered voice.

The group of girls giggle at her flustered answer.

"Whatever you say Asada-san. But you have to tell us over what happened yesterday okay?" one of them replied.

Shino wasn't so sure if she should tell her that she and Kazuto are dating. But what occupied her thoughts even more was that this people are asking her to eat lunch with her! It was the first time that someone in her school has ever done that. She mostly ate lunch alone or at the school's rooftop where no one ever eats.

The bell rang which signalled that the first period was about to start. Shino quickly went to her seat and watched as the first period teacher made his way in front of the class.

Meanwhile

School was boring as usual for Kazuto. He was quite a quick learner and can understand the lesson when the teacher has taught it at least once. Today most of his subjects devoted their time to review last week's lesson so he wasn't that interested. He just wanted to get out of the classroom even if it's just for a little while. He wanted to breathe in the air outside.

I guess I just have to wait for lunch he thought.

He was staring at the clock waiting for it to strike twelve. When it did and the bell rang he immediately went out of the room and made his way to his usual place. He saw his familiar picnic table which is under a tree. It was just a perfect spot to eat lunch and he was lucky to discover it before the other SAO survivor students did. But he wasn't that selfish to call it his own picnic table. He shares it with all of his buddies in SAO that are also students in his school. They always went there to eat. Right now though, it seems that he was the first one to get there. He decided to wait for them before eating since it would be rude if he started all by himself. He sat on his usual spot and proceeded to just admire and enjoy the season. He liked places like this. Five minutes later his thoughts were broken by the familiar voices of his friends. He saw Liz, Silica, and Asuna making their way towards the picnic table.

"It seems that Kirito was the first one here!" Liz shouted as they sat down.

"You seem to be excited for lunch Kirito-kun. You didn't even bother to wait for me even though we're in the same class." Asuna told him.

"That's right you and Asuna-san always come to lunch together." Silica added.

Kazuto thought that it was indeed quite rude of him so he apologized and explained that he just wanted a bit of fresh air which is why he rushed out of the room without her.

They then took out their respective lunches and ate. While eating, Liz opened up a topic of conversation.

"So how was your weekend guys? We didn't have any school works to work over the weekend so I was just goofing around the net." she said.

"I just did some quests on ALO with Pina the whole weekend." Silica said.

"Well I went on a family event outside of the city. It was the only interesting thing that happened during the weekend." Asuna stated.

"Oh, being a rich girl sure is busy." Liz teased. "Did they engage you to someone again?"

"I-it's not like that!" Asuna quickly defended. The group let out a huge laugh. They all knew Asuna has these kinds of problems.

"My, my Kirito-kun. If you don't hurry Asuna would be taken by another guy!" Liz then teased him.

"L-Liz!" Asuna said. She was beginning to get flustered.

Kazuto is already used to Liz's teasing though. She often teases him with Asuna. She says that they look cute together and that they should definitely start dating. She also often says that if Kazuto doesn't make a move on her then he would be left behind and some other guy will surely take her. At first Kazuto was embarrassed about her teasing but later on learned that what she was saying about them is wrong. Sure, Asuna was beautiful but she isn't Kazuto's type. He preferred simple girls who he can talk casually to. Whenever he talks to Asuna he always feels a little intimidated because she just feels so high and royal. Asuna proved him wrong however since she is very kind and a down to earth person but Kazuto just can't shake the feeling off. Besides, he's already met someone that he got really interested in, and it's not Asuna.

"A-anyway, how was your weekend Kazuto-kun?" Asuna said to try and change the topic.

He saw this at a good opportunity to finally make Liz stop from teasing him with Asuna.

"Well I went to hang-out with Shino." Kazuto replied with a smile.

"Oh, you and Sinon-san? What did you guys do?" Silica asked.

"Not much. We just watched a movie and ate dinner at my house."

The girls were about to accept it, seeing as there is nothing out of the ordinary in what Kazuto said.

"But hanging-out with her made me realize something." Kazuto suddenly continued. All of the attention of the girls was suddenly directed at him.

"Hanging-out with her, spending time with her made me think of Shino in a different way."

Upon hearing this, the girls already had a vague idea of what Kazuto means.

"I realized how she attracts me and how her little antics make me feel warm inside. I started to notice her more than just a friend, more than just a close friend."

The girls fell silent. They never knew that Sinon would mean that much to Kirito. They never noticed Kirito falling for her. They DID notice the Sinon was somehow attracted to him but they never thought that Kirito would reciprocate her feelings.

"And so after the movie I asked Shino if we can start dating." Kazuto smile was clearly visible now.

"And the most awesome part was that she said yes." Kazuto said.

The girls were surprised when they heard it. At first they felt a little sad upon hearing that the boy that they like is already interested in someone else. Then they felt extremely jealous of Sinon since she was able their hero Kirto fall for them. But almost as in an instant they pushed their feelings aside, accepted their loss, and just told him that they're happy for them.

"So that's why you never make a move on Asuna. You got googly eyed for Sinon-san." Liz teased.

"Wow, I'm happy for you Kirito-kun!" Silica happily said.

"Sinonon sure is a luck girl Kirito-kun. I wish you two the best." Asuna said.

Seeing as how they took the somewhat not much of a big news rather in a good way, Kazuto actually felt good about himself. At least he wouldn't need to worry about them anymore. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that the girls in his circle of friends have liked him to some point. He knew that Liz actually fell in love with him but quickly stopped her feelings when she thought that Asuna and him were an item. Silica was always super flustered when she was alone with him, and Asuna was a bit flirty with him. She would always blush whenever Liz teases them so Kazuto took it as a hint that Asuna somehow likes him.

The school bell rang and they made their way back to their respective classrooms.

Now back with Shino

Shino's lunchtime was identical to that of Kazuto. True to their word, her classmates did invite her to eat lunch with them. They've been really truthful because as soon as they sat dwn on a table in the cafeteria the girls asked her about the movie she had with the handsome boy.

"So Asada-san, tell us about your day with your close friend." One of them quickly asked.

Shino was contemplating whether or not to tell them what happened. She barely knew them but they were acting like they were best buds for a long time. However she knew for a fact that if she were to lie to them or hide the truth from them it would eventually come to haunt her. She might lose the only chance to get some friends in the school. She also knew that even if she didn't tell them now they would still eventually find out through another source. After thinking long and hard about it she finally decided.

"W-well we just watched the movie together and then after that he asked me if we could go start d-dating." She still stumbles over that word, she still can't quite believe it. "After that we ate dinner at his house, his sister prepared the food that we ate, and then he gave me a ride back home and wished me goodnight."

The girls had smiles on their faces when they heard what Shino said.

"So we were right. You two are more than close friends." one of them said with a smirk.

"Wow Asada-san. I'm jealous of you! How did you manage to snag yourself a handsome guy like him?" the other asked.

"Yeah Asada-san, telly us your secrets." another added.

The group laughed at those comments. Shino didn't feel offended but instead she felt rather happy. She felt that she has made some friends in school and the feeling of making friends sure is nice. She hoped that they can continue to be like this so that she can become good friends with them. Although she has to scold them about their gossiping. Though in Shino's opinion, it's something that can be fixed easily.

Afterschool

Shino was going out of the school alone. She was about to reach the school gates when a group of three stopped her from her tracks. It was her bullies, Endou and her gang.

"Hey you, Asada-san. You've really crossed the line after what you did to me back then. Don't think that I would ever forgive you for that!" and with that she and her gang surrounded her. Unfortunately for Shino there wasn't anyone around to see them. All the other students had club activities after school ends. She didn't have a club so she always goes home early. She never thought that Endou would be waiting for her today. She really thought that she's already finished with her but it would seem that she was wrong.

"It seems that guns won't make you cry anymore so I'll do something more physical." her two lackeys then grabbed Shino and she was about to punch her when a motorcycle suddenly came into the scene. It effectively surprised Endou which made her stop her punch.

The rider of the motorcycle got off of his ride then took off his helmet. Shino was really surprised but also happy at the same time that Kazuto came to her rescue. She dreaded the thought that she would have to fight three people at the same time, much worse alone. When Endou's companions grabbed her she readied herself for the worse. But to her much great appreciation Kazuto came to save her.

Quickly using the confusion Kazuto made Shino broke free from the clutches of the two lackeys and ran besides Kazuto and embraced his arm for comfort.

Kazuto was glaring at the three, doing his best to give him the silent message of: Get the hell outta here, or you'll feel my awesome wrath.

"Tch, so it is true that you've gotten yourself a boyfriend. Don't ever think that he will be always there to protect you!" and with that the trio ran away.

Shino let out a sigh of relief. She was glad she didn't have to get into a fight with those three. She was even happier that Kazuto scared them off without even doing anything.

He's cute when his hero complex starts to kick in. Shino thought.

"Whew glad that I got here in time. Well Shino, shall we get going? asked Kazuto.

"Huh where are we going?" Shino asked in a confused tone.

"Oh you'll see soon enough."

Aaand it's done! So guys what do you think? Please review tolet me know what you guys think! Hope you guys like it. I'll try to post Chapter 4 tomorrow or the day after and as promised there would be more romantic moments there since it's about Kazuto's plan. Anyways thank you for reading! PM me if you got any questions! Thanks guys love ya!