He opened his eyes, darkness surrounding most of his vision, aside from the edges of light streaming through from under his headset. He laid like that for a moment after logging out, not wanting to pull it off and come back to reality just yet. Reality meant checking his phone. Reality meant answering the question Sugu asked him. Reality meant that tomorrow he would be off on a trip for three days with his girlfriend… Reality meant he needed to find out why he felt the way he did.

"Reality is bullshit." Kazuto groaned, sitting up and flinging off his head set, setting it down on the side table and picking up his phone. It had been shut off during dinner, so he turned it back on now, leaving it on his bed as he headed to the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he pushed in the lock and sighed, turning to stare at himself in the mirror. There were slight circles under his eyes, and his hair was a mess from laying in the headgear for so long. Turning on the tap, he cupped his hands and splashed some water over his face, needing to clear his head. He dried himself off, and leaned against the bathroom door, slowly sliding down it, resting his head on his arms with his knees up. He still needed to pack for their trip, but packing was the last thing on his mind.

A knock on the door caused him to jump, hitting his head on the sink counter in the process.

"OW!"

"Kazuto? What the hell are you doing in there? I need to shower, you idiot." Sugu's voice was dulled through the thick door, but he still heard her loud and clear.

"Yeah yeah, I'll be out in a sec." He called back, just loud enough for her to hear, and rubbed his head carefully, a small bump forming where he had hit it. He took a deep breath in, let it out slowly, and unlocked the door, pushing past his sister without a word, directly into his bedroom with the door closed before she had a chance to ask him anything.

"You're freaking weird you know!" She called out to him before he heard the bathroom door shut, and the shower start up.

"Yeah… I know." He mumbled to himself, opening his closet and taking out his duffle bag. Before starting, he turned to his stereo system, and turned it on, blaring music as he threw random clothing into the bag, not really caring what he wore while he was there. Three pairs of pants, three shirts, three sets of socks, underwear, and a bathing suit. As he did all of this, he bobbed his head enthusiastically to the music, singing along here and there. Like any teenage boy, occasionally he broke out into dance, throwing his hands in the air, and jumping around as he tossed items into the duffel bag. After half the song had passed, he noticed the flashing light on his phone, and picked it up, falling into his computer chair, still mouthing the words.

Asuna: Hey sweetie! Tomorrow is the day! I just wanted to say I had a fantastic time tonight, your sister is becoming quite the chef! Love you :*

(received at 8:30pm)

Kazuto quickly glanced at the clock, groaning lightly. It had been nearly four hours since she'd texted him, but oddly enough, that was the only text he'd received from her. That couldn't be a good sign. His computer wasn't showing any new messages either, which only made him more nervous. Quickly, he typed up a reply, claiming he'd played some video games, lost track of time, and he loved her too. It wasn't really a lie. With a sigh, he moved on to his other texts, finding one from Sinon.

Sinon: Yo. I don't know you very well, but I feel compelled to ask; are you okay? I know you snapped last time, but honestly, you looked like you wanted to kill something the entire time we were raiding. Just asking, no need to be hostile again, kay?

(received at 12:40am)

It had only been 20 minutes or so since Sinon had texted him, so he didn't feel nearly as bad about his late reply.

Yeah, I really need to apologize about that. My problems in IRL have nothing to do with in game, so I really shouldn't be bringing them with me when I play. I'm sorry for snapping at you.

He pressed send, and sighed again, the song had changed to something quieter, and he had finished packing… all that was left was sleep. Kazuto stood up, plugging his phone in and moving the duffel bag off of his bed. As he moved to turn off his light, he heard his phone buzz. Turning it off, he flopped onto his bed, picking it up and reading the reply.

You didn't answer my question.

(received at 1:10am)

He groaned. He was hoping she would have let it go, but clearly that didn't seem to be happening.

Yeah.. I'm okay. After school tomorrow I have this trip with my friends to a cabin, I'm just not feeling up for it.

All that anger over a small trip? Why not just cancel?

(Received at 1:13am)

He sighed.

It's not that simple. It was my girlfriend's idea…

.oh. Yeah. Canceling may not be the best idea then… good luck.

(received at 1:15am)

Kazuto rolled onto his back, a sarcastic chuckling making its way out of his throat. Good luck indeed. He was going to need it. The two said their goodnights, and the entire time Kaztuo felt awful for yelling at her earlier in the night, but he'd already apologized… he decided he would probably do something for her in game, maybe buy her a new weapon or something like that. Hopefully she wasn't the type to hold a grudge.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Kazuto slammed his hand down on the snooze button, a loud groan echoing in the room. Today was the day.