AN: This ended up being a much shorter chapter than the others but its more of a prologue into part 2 of the story arc. I hope you enjoy it and I will continue to update as often as I can.
Kazuto arrived at school the next day still thinking about last night. About Snow Princess and whether she liked him. Unfortunately he didn't pay attention to where he was walking and ran into the 3 upper classmen who had been constantly bullying him.
"Why looked what the cat dragged in." The sinister smile was the same across all three. They were definitely up to no good.
It looked like they were about to pounce when the most unexpected thing happened. "Hey Kazuto what's up?" All three simultaneously slinked away. Even though they were bullies they weren't going to cause trouble surrounding Asuna Yuuki.
Kazuto wasn't happy with the situation involving those three but at least it was put on the back burner for now.
"Hi Asuna, How have you been?"
"How have I been? What was that about?" She was clearly irritated at how Kazuto had brushed off the danger he was in.
"Nothing really." He had no intention of getting this girl involved with the bullies. It was the reason he had originally cut ties with people at this school in the first place.
"Aren't those the guys you fought when you got suspended just last week?"
"Well….. I guess." He was not good at lying or hiding anything.
"Just be careful." She walked away more annoyed with the boy and his unwillingness to accept help than the actual situation.
Class went by normally but Kazuto noticed that Asuna kept turning around and looking at him. She was obviously concerned about what had happened before class. He tried to smile at her but that ended up making it more obvious that it was bothering him.
The rest of the class was buzzing about the huge feat that they had completed yesterday and were forming groups on exploring the new levels they had all unlocked in SAO. They all had plans to work on teamwork in their party groups and raise their levels for the event that was coming up. It was already Wednesday which meant that everyone only had 3 days in game before the tournament.
It was amazing that the students actually learned anything in this class since everything was always about SAO. Kazuto left the class when the lunch bell rang and found his usual spot. Of course a certain red headed upper classman met him there. This had become regular for them.
What Kazuto didn't know was that this was planned between the two best friends of the future couple. Rika was at this moment making sure Asuna avoided this area so Ryoutarou could figure out more about what Kazuto thought without being interrupted by the girls.
Ryoutarou didn't know that right now Asuna was on a rant about how boys are stupid and never ask for help.
Ryoutarou started talking to Kazuto about the competition.
"It was amazing! We fought the boss in a huge battle. It was the most powerful thing I have ever seen! The best part was that I was fighting with both Snow Princess and Kirito though."
Kazuto was still ignorant of his friend's knowledge and begrudgingly went along with the conversation.
"Oh really? Did you figure out if they were dating yet?" Kazuto was a little amused teasing his friend on this subject.
"Not yet. But they will soon." This got Kazuto's attention.
"What do you mean?" Kazuto was hoping his friend saw something that he didn't. He did want something to happen between them and remembering what happened when they parted ways last night made him hopeful.
"Well the two of them were almost inseparable. During the fight and even after they were together. She even spent the day at his house apparently."
Kazuto was trying to figure out how that got out. His mind went straight to a certain pink haired blacksmith that decided to make him her new play thing. She probably spreading rumors and other things she heard from Snow Princess.
'If she figured out who I am maybe she figure out who Klein is and is messing with me.'
"Well, that is all up to them. How is your group for the Battle of the Guilds doing?" His plan was definitely to try to switch subjects which his friend noticed. It was very obvious.
"That's right! You still haven't decided whether or not you are on a team." He turned it back around on Kazuto.
"No I am not."
"You said you were in The Army right? Don't they have a team?"
"I am not a high enough level to make it."
"Well I guess I shouldn't talk too much about my team since you could give away information to your guild. So, how about we talk about Asuna?"
That was when all the milk in Kazuto's mouth ended up all over the ground in a classic spit take. It was subject after subject he wished to avoid. His whole life had become a minefield he wants to avoid. Luckily the bell for lunch rang. They went to class while Kazuto was able to avoid any further conversation about his confusing feelings.
When he left school he was walking home but noticed the bullies from earlier that day had been following him. He ran as fast as he could to try to get away from them. While trying to get away all he could think about was the conversation with Asuna in the morning. He thought about how angry she would be with him.
Unfortunately for him he ran around a corner to get away and ended up with a dead end. He turned around and looked at the three bullies that had plagued him since he started at high school. They had him, there was nowhere to go. One of them punched Kazuto in the gut and caused him to keel over on the ground then the last thing he remembered was the guy in the middle smiling a chilling smile.
"It's show time."
Then blackness.
