The Kendo Club

Chapter Four: Distractions


Beginning A/N:

Yet another one! This one is all about Kirito and his efforts to care for Sachi without getting distracted by other things. As you can probably tell by the chapter name, I'm not gonna make it easy for him! :D

Anyway, I'm going to make a prequel to this story soon, called, "Crossing Blades, Crossing Hearts." (It'll be chaptered, and might end up being just as long as this story, if not longer. The prologue will be pretty short, though.) It'll be set before Kirito met Sachi and her friends.

With that piece of information, have a fun read!


Half an hour later, I had unfolded the futon for Asuna, and she was sleeping peacefully.

Being on the verge of falling asleep myself, I decided to call it a night.

Well… I guess my summer vacation is shot. Strangely, I couldn't care less. Well…

"Goodnight, Asuna."

And with that, I fell into a blissful sleep, filled with dreams of the good moments of the past week.


My eyebrows twitched in restlessness as I remembered my conversation in the hospital a week ago.

"Of course. It would probably be better for her to be cared for by someone she trusts, wouldn't it?" Daisuke confirmed. "Plus, I'd trust him more than any professional caregiver," he finished, patting me on the back.

"I agree with my husband. But Kazuto, are you sure you want to resign your summer to this?"

"Of course, although I don't think of it as resigning my summer."

I closed my eyes.

That's what I said, but… this is really boring. Sure, her sleeping face is cute, but… when that's all I see for hours on end, it gets a little boring.

I sighed.

Well, I made a commitment, so I have to see it through.

"Hey there, I guess you're the person in charge of caring for Sachi?" a sly female voice said from behind me.

"Who are you?" I asked, not even turning around.

"I'm Lisbeth, I go to your school. I'm the president of the Computer Mechanics Club," the girl informed me.

"Wait, what does the Computer Mechanics Club actually do?"

"We take apart, examine, and rebuild computers while trying to make improvements on them."

"I see… I might have something for you guys to experiment with once school starts back up, unless you have summer activities," I said.

"What do you mean? Weren't you just a lazy gamer before you joined the Kendo Club?" she asked, although I could tell she wasn't making fun of me.

Regardless, I clenched my teeth to hold back any retorts that I might have said. "In elementary school, I built my first computer, for storing pictures of my schoolwork at home."

"Seriously?!"

"Shhh…" I quieted her, pointing to Sachi, who was sleeping soundly beside me.

"Yes, seriously."

"Wait, you said it was your first… does that mean you made more?" Lisbeth asked, trying desperately to keep her excited voice quiet.

"Yeah. If you want, I'll give you the one I made in middle school to look at. Just don't mess with the files inside. I want you to see if you can enhance the computer's memory while still keeping all the files and data intact." Noting the curiosity in her eyes, I continued with, "If you succeed, then you can look at the files all you want."

"But what if we fail?"

"Just in case, I'm going to make a backup of all of them and put them on the gaming computer I made."

They'll fail, and then it'll all be gone. Good.

"Okay… we have summer activities in three days, so when would be a good time to pick it up?"

"Anytime is fine. I have to get up at five to get ready to come over here by six, so I'll just bring it over here with me. I live next door."

"Why do they make you get here at six?"

I pondered whether I should tell her the truth. In the end, I decided to do it. "They don't. It's kind of embarrassing, but I come here early just to make sure I don't miss anything."

"… I see."

"Wait… why did you come here, Lisbeth?" I asked with suspicion.

"I'm Asuna's rival in the housecleaning business. They hired me a few weeks back."

She seems to be telling the truth.

"Well, I'm cool with anytime," I said, "but if you could, could you come around lunchtime?"

"Sure, that'd be fine. Is it okay if I bring some of my club members?" she requested.

"Sure, as long as they're quiet around Sachi."

"All right. Well, my job is about done here, so I'm gonna head back to my house," Lisbeth said, preparing to leave.

"Wait."

"Yeah?"

"… thanks. Talking with you relieved some of the restlessness I've been feeling from standing around all day."

"No problem, Kazuto. I'll see ya."

And with that, she walked out of the room.

"Kazu… to… are you… there?" Sachi said slowly, barely opening her eyes.

She remembers how to talk, so that's good.

"Yeah, I'm here," I said gently.

She smiled contentedly. "Who were you talking to…?"

"A friend of mine who came for a visit. Nothing to worry about."

"That's good… you made more… friends…" she said, nodding back into unconsciousness.

"Rest well, Sachi…"


Two days went by like lightning, and before I knew it, it was the night before I planned to give Lisbeth the computer I made containing all of my personal files… files that I wanted to delete, but didn't have the heart to delete myself.

Once I lose all of those files, maybe it'll ease my conscience… maybe I'll forget it all… maybe I'll be able to… love again.

"Onii-chan, get out of the shower! It's my turn!"

"Okay, I'll be out in a sec!"


I collapsed on my bed, having finished my shower and everything else for the night.

If all the files are gone, I might be able to forget it and get over it… but… do I really want to forget? Do I really want to forget her? She was… my everything…

And with that, I fell into a deep sleep filled with nightmares about my middle school years.


When I woke up to the sound of my alarm, I felt as if I had been set free from a dangerous prison known as my dreams.

Oh, thank god… it was only a dream…

I remembered the deal I had made with Lisbeth three days prior.

Now… it'll all be over. But… is that really what I want?

I got up and headed for the shower, turning it on right as I got to the bathroom. I adjusted the temperature so that the water was scalding hot, then I stepped in and started to think.

I need to forget… so I can move on in my life. But… I don't want to forget… never…

Somewhere in my thought process, tears began building up in my eyes. When I finished showering and went back to my room, I noticed a single sketch on my wall, hung like a tapestry next to my mirror. A picture of me in a deadlock with a kendo fighter I don't remember, from when I participated in the Tokyo Kendo Championship for the first time.

I walked over to it, flipping it over and seeing an address written in extremely messy handwriting.

A small sniffle escaped me, and before I knew it, I was a sobbing mess on the floor.

"Onii-chan, what's wrong?!" Suguha asked frantically, running into my room.

She scanned the room, finding the answer in the now flipped over sketch.

"You still haven't gotten over it, huh…" Suguha said gently, pulling me into a comforting embrace.

I stayed silent, allowing myself to be vulnerable in front of somebody for the first time in years. Anything negative she said could send me spiraling back into depression.

"Onii-chan… you're not alone… you have me, your aunt… your friends… we can all help you move forward. You just have to let us."

"Th-thank you…"


Making sure to take the computer with me in a cardboard box, I left my house and began to cross into Sachi's yard.

This yard was once… no! I can't get depressed again!

I set the box down, opened the door with the key they gave me, and picked the box back up, going inside and shutting the door behind me.

When I reached Sachi's room, I set the box with my computer in the corner and walked over to her bed.

"Sachi…" I whispered, gently shaking her arm to wake her up.

"Kazuto… good morning…" Sachi said, yawning quietly.

"Good morning, Sachi…"

"So… will your friend come back today?"

Was she aware of my conversation with Lisbeth three days ago?

"Yeah, that's right. She's going to help me move past something… by helping me forget about it."

Sachi chuckled lightly. "Silly… doesn't mean you have to forget… too."

My eyes widened, and I sat there, dumbfounded.

"I'm tired… wake me up later, okay…?"

"All right… goodnight, Sachi."

With that, she fell back asleep.

Lunchtime came far faster than I wanted, and I soon heard a knock on the door.

"Coming!" I shouted as I neared the door.

"Hey, Kazuto!" Lisbeth said with cheer. She pointed to the two people beside her, saying, "These are two of my club-mates, Argo and Coper."

"I'm guessing that Argo is just your screen name," I assumed while looking at said person.

"Yes."

"So what's your real name?"

Coper chimed in with, "She doesn't even give her real name to the teachers, let alone other students. I wouldn't try getting it if I were you."

"Oh, I see."

"Well anyway, we'll take this computer of yours and let you know when we're finished!" Lisbeth exclaimed.

"All right, let me go get it."

It was then that I heard three stomachs growl in unison.

"You guys have synchronized stomachs, apparently. Let me go call Sachi's parents and ask them if you can eat here."

"Thanks!" Coper said.

An hour later, we had finished eating and they were heading out the door with my computer.

"Take care, guys. Come back on another day to show me the results!"

"Will do!" Coper shouted back as he carried the box to his car.

When they were all in the car, we said our goodbyes one last time before they drove off.

When I went back inside, I immediately went to Sachi's room to see if she needed anything. Fortunately, she had been asleep the whole time that Lisbeth and her club-mates had been there.

I went back outside her room, coming back with some food and a drink.

"Sachi… wake up, it's time to eat…" I gently prodded her.

When she awakened, I helped her sit upright, letting her eat as much as she could on her own and catching any food that she dropped.

When she finished eating, I asked, "Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"Yeah… hey, Kazuto?"

"Yes?"

"Lay down next to me, at least until I fall asleep."

I almost choked.

Maybe this is the next step to moving on…

"Sure thing, Sachi."

Long after she fell asleep, I lay awake, deep in thought… until I heard the front door opening.

I jumped up and smoothed out my clothes, walking out of Sachi's room to greet her parents.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Takamachi!"

"Hello, Kazuto! How did your friends like my cooking?" Ritsu asked.

"They loved it just as much as I do, and you know how much I love your cooking," I smiled.

"That's good to hear!" Daisuke said. "So, how has Sachi been doing?"

"She's been doing well, for the most part. She still has a little trouble with eating, so I helped her out a little with that. When will she begin therapy to help her regain the ability to walk?" I inquired.

"They said that it should begin in a few days. I know this is asking a lot, but would you be able to accompany her to those sessions, Kazuto?" Ritsu requested.

Reassuring them, I said, "Sure, it's no trouble at all!"

"We can't thank you enough for how much help you've been, and still are being!" Daisuke praised, patting me on the back yet again.

"I agree!" Ritsu said gleefully.

"Really, it's no trouble."

"Well, we'll take it from here, Kazuto. I'm sure your cousin is waiting for you. See you tomorrow!" Daisuke said happily, ushering me out the door.

"See you two tomorrow," I returned his parting words, beginning to walk back over to my house.


When I entered the house, I saw Asuna talking with Suguha.

I walked over to them. "Hey."

"Hey!" they shouted simultaneously, sounding awfully suspicious.

Deciding to ignore it, I said, "I'm going to bed… I'm exhausted. G'night."

I walked into my room, immediately collapsing onto my bed and falling into a deep sleep, filled with dreams of my happy memories with… her.


A/N:

Well, that happened. I noticed that my most recent chapter wasn't as popular, so I came out with a new one ASAP to hopefully keep your interest.

Now, you may have already noticed that chapter one of "Crossing Blades, Crossing Hearts" is out. (Though it's actually a prologue.) I'm going to be working on that story alongside this one, even though it takes place before this story. This may get confusing for those who try to read both at once, so beware of that.

Anyway, it's time for the line that everyone hates the most! (Oddly enough, it's not, "I lost the game"!)

I don't own Sword Art Online or any of its characters!

See ya!