So I guess last chapter really was as disappointing as I thought. Oh well.
MWkillkenny84: you would be right to guess that.
najdrox: it's still a thing, but there was no reason for Kayaba to reveal it to them. They'll learn of it eventually, starting as early as maybe two chapters from now.
Greatazuredragon: aw, man, and I even tried adding a bit more acrobatics to the battle than in canon. Welp. Also the ou/oh thing really depends on how you Romanize it. Houou/Ho-Oh. Tousaka Rin, Tohsaka Rin. I've seen both ways used. Of course, I could be wrong… on further thought, I don't see 'ou' used in official Romanization much. Ou well. I'll stick with 'ou' for consistency's sake, since I've already used it in previous chapters.
Sazq: bit of both, I guess?
Blinded in a bolthole: funny thing about the canon version, that was foreshadowing for the entire VR mythos following SAO. Incarnation – aka doing things inside VR just out of willpower – became a named thing in Alicization and it's apparently also very key to Accel World, or so I've heard. And, um, Suguha being affiliated with the Norse, who are themselves behind the very creation of ALO (which is Norse mythology inspired in SAO canon anyway) kinda means I'll go through it but yeah I'll try to make it more reasonable.
RizomataNyan: I'm going to give them both (hopefully) a fair and equal share of screentime (pagetime?)
KissMyFeet: I haven't seen Ordinal Scale yet and currently have no plans to include it in my story. And those two do meet. But uh, I tried to keep this chapter as lighthearted as possible, besides the select few segments soooo…
Brawler883: Battle Healing worked that well only when faced against comparatively weak-ass runts like during Silica's arc. Against someone as strong as Kayaba, it's kinda canceled out. I liked the idea of them thinking they were dead too, but I didn't know if it would still work with this other Kayaba talking to them about all that other stuff.
Thanks to everyone else who's reviewed and who has stuck with this story for so long. I hope you'll bear with me for longer.
Right then. Here we go again. Warning: there's a looooot of talking this chapter.
Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own DxD or SAO.
*~B~*
Chapter Thirty-Two: Accretion
[Kirigaya residence, January 19th 2025]
Kirigaya Suguha's mornings began early. She would wake up early, go through some stretches and kendo practice, and get in around half an hour of spellcasting practice before her mother woke up. It wasn't as though she tried to hide it – rather, her mother had several times requested Suguha to show off for her – but she could concentrate better in the quiet of dawn. And, of course, there was the matter of going to school; she couldn't very well practice there.
Her daily routine was straightforward: wake up, have breakfast, go through the motions with her shinai and with magic, get dressed and go to school, study both schoolwork and other things during her free time when in the library, spend an hour or so in the kendo club and return home. She would log into ALO in the evening, take a break for dinner and after another hour or so of the game, she would go to sleep. On weekends she would spend time with her mother, and every Saturday she would have visited the hospital where her brother was.
That morning was no different. Suguha took several deep breaths, and began her stretching exercises. Her muscles began to loosen as she went through the motions at the edge of an icy pond. The morning was very cold, but Suguha no longer felt discomforted by it. Having finished her stretches, she picked up her shinai, and began practicing.
Let's see … there's a couple of spells I want to master by today. There's a book in the library on Norse mythology that I want to borrow too. Ah, and I also have to call Sensei, there's a few questions I had to ask her. Wait, I've got science homework to deal with too, ugh.
Suguha paused in the middle of a set. I wonder if Onii-chan's going to wake up before I leave today. I could even skip school to spend time with him. "Maybe I'll prod him awake or something," she muttered, resuming.
The sun had risen further by the time she had finished the required number of sets. Exhaling, she put down the shinai. Right. What should I do now? There's still all this snow from two days ago. It'd save Mom a lot of trouble if I cleared it. So … what method should I use? Heat? Wind? Maybe I should just let loose and just make sure I don't break anything.
The first small magic circle had barely formed in front of her palm when someone said, "You've really been keeping up, huh?"
"Uwaah!"
Suguha flinched and turned around, tripping and falling onto her butt. "Cold…" she muttered, before glaring at the porch.
Kazuto, her insufferable brother, was sitting there on the porch, a water bottle in hand and looking very amused.
Something had indeed changed. The brother who had been stolen away from her for two years was finally with her again.
Suguha had been in the dojo when her mom had shouted at her to come quick. The day was November 7th. The news channel showed that the 6000 surviving players of Sword Art Online were waking up. They had both dropped everything and immediately rushed to the hospital where Kazuto was.
Over the past two months, Kazuto had been undergoing physical rehabilitation. It was only two days ago that he had been deemed fit to return home.
"At least say that you're there!" Suguha complained, standing up and wiping snow off her hakama. She picked up her shinai and walked towards him.
"I'm surprised you didn't hear me walking here. That's some impressive focus."
"More like you walk way too quietly," she shot back, smiling. Good, it doesn't look like he saw it. If he hadn't spoken up … I'm not ready to have this conversation, jeez.
Kazuto smirked. "Morning," he finally greeted, tossing the bottle at her.
Suguha caught it and sat down beside him. "Morning, Onii-chan. You're up early today."
"I gotta go to that troublesome place today, remember? That makeshift school – correction, quarantine center."
"That's not a nice thing to say," she scolded.
"Well, it's true. We're only being kept there so that they can keep an eye on all the SAO survivors."
"And so you can catch up to the two years of education you've missed."
"Psh. I don't need that."
"Look who's overconfident," she sighed, shaking her head. He wasn't wrong, she mused as she gulped down the water. Kazuto had always been far above his grade in most subjects. He totally flunked Literature, though, but he wouldn't ever admit to that.
Yesterday the Kirigaya residence had received a call saying that Kirito was to attend a makeshift school of sorts that would help all the players of Aincrad who had missed out on two years of education to catch up. 'A glorified cram school,' Kazuto had complained, but whether he agreed to go or not, he would have to anyway.
Ahh, and here I was planning to skip school so that I could spend the day with him. Suguha glanced to the side and noticed Kazuto pick up her shinai. "So light," he commented.
"Eh?" Suguha removed the bottle from her mouth. "It's made from genuine bamboo, so it's actually heavier than average."
"That so? Well, I was only comparing. Hey, you wanna spar?"
"What?" Suguha stared, perplexed. "As in … a match?"
"Well, yeah," Kazuto said casually, standing up and stretching. "There should be protectors in the dojo, right? I've been feeling a bit cooped up."
"Onii-chan, you realize you're challenging a national quarter-finalist, right?" Suguha asked, smirking.
"Yeah, yeah, Mom won't shut up about it," he chuckled. "So you up for it?"
"Sure, but what about your body? Are you sure you can strain yourself right now?"
"Don't give me that look, I've been training at the gym daily, haven't I? Come on."
"Ahh, wait up!" she called, hastily getting up as he began to briskly walk away.
Suguha loved that she had been able to mend relations with him so easily. In fact, one of the first things he had asked after waking up and being able to move around again – besides trying to get out of bed and falling over, alarming the doctors and earning him stern rebukes – was to talk to her. He'd looked so awkward when he was asking if they could start over. And when he had instinctively teased her as she had begun to cry then, Suguha knew that they were finally proper siblings again.
A sudden realization came to Suguha. Wait, I'm going to have to really hold back on him, don't I? I could break a bone or two by accident!
*~B~*
"What the heck?" Suguha blurted out, staring at Kazuto's … unorthodox stance. His left foot was far in front, and he was leaning forwards, the shinai in his grasp at his right tilted down to nearly touch the floor. His left hand was only touching the hilt with the fingertips.
"Don't mind me, this is my style," he said.
"If you say so," she conceded, getting into position herself. He did spend two years inside a fighting game. Physically fit or not, he's probably not at all unskilled.
Kazuto dashed suddenly, the tip of the shinai zooming at her. Suguha stepped forwards and swung the sword at his left forearm. "Kote!"
His left hand let go of the shinai and he retracted his arm, turning the two handed thrust into a one handed thrust. Caught by surprise, Suguha spun on her right foot, letting Kazuto pass by her as she took up a stance again.
Did he predict I'd attack there…? Well, then, try this!
Suguha prided herself in her speedy forearm strike. But somehow, Kazuto twisted and avoided it. He stumbled slightly but didn't falter. Suguha grew excited and threw jab after jab, speeding up every attack. Amazingly, Kazuto kept up and avoided all of them by a hair. He made to attack and Suguha reflexively went to parry.
She forgot to hold back.
Kazuto's shinai snapped out of his grip and the tip of hers slammed into the metal grilled head protector with a loud noise. Kazuto stumbled back and fell into a sitting position, his shinai rolling away.
"Ahh! O-onii-chan, are you alright?!" Suguha exclaimed, frantic. Is that a dent in the grill?! Oh, Hel, what if I gave him a concussion?!
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said, waving a hand. "Man, you're good. I haven't lost this soundly in forever."
Suguha sighed in relief. "You did great too, you know?" Suguha said, holding out a hand which he took. "I don't mean to brag but you're the first person who kept up with me in a while." First ordinary person, at least. "If you were a bit more fit, then maybe you could have lasted longer."
"Oh so it's a given that I'll lose, is it?" Kazuto asked as she pulled him up. "Maybe I'll take up kendo again."
"Really?! No wait, recover properly first!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Suguha felt like she was forgetting something. She glanced at the clock and froze. "Ahh! We're going to be late!" she exclaimed.
"Apologies, Sugu, but it seems that this spar has rendered me incapable of leaving the house."
"Don't go making excuses now, Onii-chan! Hurry and get ready!" Suguha ordered, already in the process of removing all the protective gear. "I'm going to accompany you to your 'quarantine center' or whatever you want to call it, so don't keep me waiting!"
"Hey, you don't need to do that! Besides, how will you get to yours in time then?"
"I'll just teleport!" She wasn't joking.
Kazuto actually paused at that. "Did I miss that being invented cause I wouldn't even know–"
"Just go already!" she said, pushing him out of the dojo.
"When did you get so strict?" he grumbled.
*~B~*
[Somewhere inside a hospital. December 2024]
"The patient is going in and out of consciousness, sir," a voice outside the door said. "She seems to be having severe migraines very often and we're not sure what to do."
"It isn't anything to do with the NerveGear, is it?" the other voice was unfamiliar.
"We've checked with as many other survivors as we could, and the symptoms are unique to her. If you would like to check on her, then please, do so."
The door opened. Gokou Arisa turned her throbbing head in that direction. A doctor she didn't know walked in. Her eyes widened.
"Ah, you're awake," the person said. "Good morning. You can call me Takeda-sensei. Arisa-chan, is it not?"
Arisa nodded. The person was giving off a lot of bad vibes. She wished she was able to move. She wanted to run.
"Are you still feeling cranial pains?" She nodded again. "Hmm. Well, then, I'll leave you to rest. Worry not, we'll figure out a way to help you."
He left and Arisa felt like she was finally able to breathe again. "What the hell was that…?" she muttered. "What is that guy…?"
Her strange Instinct had told her very questionable, bizarre things.
Light. Holy cross. Holy water.
"What's going on…?"
*~B~*
[Ayano residence. January 19th 2025]
An argument was occurring.
"We should tell her, Tetsu! She needs to know!"
"She just got out a two year long death game! Imagine how she'll feel if we spring this on her now."
"We were going to tell her on her fifteenth birthday anyway, weren't we? We can't keep this from her now, especially not after what has happened!"
"Dear, we need to give her some more time to adjust to her life again."
"She's been marked, Tetsuhiko! By some sort of dragon no less! What happens if we don't tell her before something happens to her?"
"Mom? Dad?" a sleepy voice interrupted them. They turned to the door. "Is something wrong?" their daughter yawned.
"It's – it's nothing, Keiko-chan. Get dressed, okay? You have to go that makeshift school today," the father said.
"Kaaay," she yawned again and walked away.
*~Kirito~*
"Ah, Kirito-kun. You're late."
I stared. "Asuna, what … what are you doing?"
"You know him, Asuna-san?" said the official looking man in glasses sitting beside her at the table.
Upon arriving at the quarantine center – I mean, 'school', I was told to go sit in a waiting room along with a few dozen others. There were guards around the walls. Seriously, if they don't trust us, then they should just flat out say so.
I waited my turn as people went out of the room and newer people arrived. I was pretty sure I recognized a PKer but held back, recalling what the lady who'd led me here had said. 'Should you recognize anyone unsavory, kindly do not start a fuss. This process is meant for weeding them out.' Eventually it was my turn, and I walked in to see Asuna, government guy and a couple of guards.
"Kirito-kun, this is Kikuoka Seijirou. He's with the government. Kikuoka-san, this is Kirigaya Kazuto-kun."
"I would be right to assume he's safe, then?"
"No, he's dangerous," Asuna said, smirking. "He is the strongest player who defeated the game, after all."
Her first words had made the two guards stand to attention and nearly gave me a heart attack. "Asuna, c'mon, don't do that kind of thing, I'm already jittery," I grumbled. "Saw a PKer in the room back, too."
Asuna's smirk vanished. "Describe him to Kikuoka-san, please."
"Uh … sure."
A minute later, Kikuoka told me that I could go. "I'll talk to you later, Kirito-kun," Asuna told me. "Go find everyone else you know first."
*~B~*
"Security checks, huh?" I asked, once Asuna was done with her impromptu job.
We were both sitting at a corner of a giant cafeteria. People milled about all around, meeting old friends and starting up conversations and such. Everyone pretended to ignore the guards stationed about the entrances.
"That's right. After my own screening, Kikuoka-san asked me to assist him in screening everyone else, since I was someone who would recognize most orange players and help him weed them out. It wasn't just me, though. The 'guards' in the waiting room were all observing how everyone in there interacted with each other. They made their own judgments and some of them were free to go from there."
"So I only went to where you were cause I was deemed suspicious?"
Asuna laughed. God I loved her laugh. "I suppose so. You were probably sitting in there all alert and observing the guards yourself, weren't you?"
"N-not really."
"Yes you were," she corrected, smiling. "They noticed that."
"Why'd he pick you to accompany him? Was it some roundabout way of hitting on you?"
"Of course not. It was probably because, well, I'm the daughter of the CEO of RETCO. And the vice-leader – well, de facto leader, all things considered – of the front lines inside the game, so I'd be both trustworthy and knowledgeable about who to put under lock and key."
"Well, aren't you pompous?"
"Your ego rubbed off on me, you can blame yourself for that," Asuna retorted, grinning. "With that out of the way, nice to see you again, Kirito-kun."
"You're never going to call me by my real name, are you?" I asked.
Asuna tilted her head. "Why? Kirito-kun is Kirito-kun. By the way… is it true that you tried to walk out of the hospital minutes after waking up and falling out of bed just to find me?" Asuna teased.
I swear, she'd only gotten more playful and teasing ever since we got together. "… Who told you that?" I asked, looking out the window. My face was red, I could feel it.
"I have my ways. It's a sweet thing to do, Kirito-kun … but also a very stupid thing to do."
"Ouch."
"Honestly, what were you thinking, trying to walk out of the one place that could help you recover when you could barely move?"
Time to strike back. "Well, sorry about that, but I just loved you too much to not want to see you again immediately."
Asuna blushed, but continued to glare at me. We sat there quietly until –
"Oh, spare me the diabetes, I'm gonna gag."
Asuna's expression soured. "I'm going to punch you, Liz," she promised, staring daggers at her. I turned to my right.
Liz looked different without the pink hair she had in game. And the casual clothes somehow didn't suit her as well as the blacksmith's overalls I knew her to wear.
"Don't go staring at other girls, Kiritard, you're gonna make Asuna jealous," Lizbeth admonished.
I blinked innocently. "Where do you see another girl?"
"Smartass."
"Metalbrain."
"Ahem," Asuna interrupted. "Kirito-kun, let me reintroduce you. This is Shinozaki Rika, my insufferable childhood friend. Liz, Kirigaya Kirito."
"It's Kazuto."
"Kirito it is," Asuna repeated.
I then noticed the person hiding behind Liz. "Hmm? Oh, right! I was talking to her and she mentioned you, so I had to come find you to see if you were cheating on Asuna," Liz said.
"Sh-shinozaki-san, don't cause a misunderstanding!" the girl with the short twintails complained. She looked familiar…
"Oh, it's Silica," I realized. "Yo."
"N-nice to meet you again, Kiri – Kirigaya-san," she said shyly.
"Oh, so I was right?" Liz said, smirking devilishly.
Asuna stomped on her foot, catching Liz by surprise. She yelped. "You said you were gonna punch me, not crush my toes!" Liz complained.
"What's the difference? Now, shoo, we were having a moment before you ruined it."
"Actually," I said, getting up, "you guys chat for a while. I just saw some familiar faces. I'll be back soon."
I wasn't lying. I did see two familiar faces across the room, one of whom I wasn't sure I'd ever see again.
I jogged towards the group of four, three guys and one girl. One guy was still wearing that signature bandanna – did he get it custom made after one he owned in real life, or maybe the other way around? That guy – Klein – noticed me approaching and waved me over. "Oi, Kirito! How've you been, you bastard?" The brown haired guy turned towards me. He looked like he recognized me too.
"I'd say it's nice to see you again, Klein, but we both know I'd be lying," I said.
"Shaddup. You still owe me a meal."
"Yeah, yeah," I waved him off and turned to the other guy. "Yo, Harem King."
"That's how you remember me?!"
*~B~*
[Gremory Territory, Underworld]
"Yuuto, are you sure about this?" Rias asked worriedly.
"I need to try this out," Yuuto said.
"But … are you sure you should be straining yourself?"
"She's right, Yuuto," added Okita Souji, Rias's brother's Knight and Yuuto's teacher. "Even Serafall-sama has yet to fully recover her powers. Whatever was done to her and everyone else while they were trapped there, it has slowed down their recovery immensely."
"Well, you're here now, Master, so it would be wrong not to try."
"What is it exactly that you wish to attempt?"
Yuuto answered by walking away and taking position at a point in the empty clearing.
He seems confident, Okita mused as he moved to a position opposing him in the blink of an eye. "Whenever you are ready," he declared, drawing his sword.
"Don't hurt yourself!" Rias warned Yuuto. He nodded and held out a hand, activating Sword Birth.
The bizarre sword he conjured made Okita pause and stare disapprovingly. He could not call that zigzagging oddity a real sword.
"Trust me, Master," Yuuto said, getting into a low stance, sword at his left as if he was about to draw it from a sheath. He took a deep breath.
Had Okita not underestimated it, he could have dodged Yuuto's attack easily. Surprise also played a part.
The sword had glowed green as Yuuto had charged faster than his normal. It didn't touch Okita, but his delayed reaction did cost him a cut on his sleeve. As soon as the glow faded after Yuuto's sudden slash, he folded his arm back. It glowed with a blood-red color. There was a windy, roaring noise as it stabbed towards Okita. This time he blocked it easily. He noted the surprising force behind the blow.
Yuuto surprised him by suddenly collapsing, looking drained. "Yuuto!" Rias called, running towards them.
"That … was costlier than I expected," he panted. "And also easier than I expected."
"Was that … something from that place you were trapped in?" Okita asked. Yuuto nodded.
Okita sheathed his sword. "Make sure you practice that properly for the next two months. Of course, don't slow down on practicing once you're there either."
Yuuto looked up. "There?"
"Ah, Hime, you haven't told him yet?"
"I was going to, but then he had this idea. Honestly, who taught you to be this reckless?"
"Really, I didn't expect it to be so draining," he protested.
"Doesn't matter, I'm not letting you out of my sight," Rias said, crossing her arms.
"Aren't you overreacting?"
"Don't talk back to me, Yuuto. You're coming with me to Kuou and I will personally see to it that you recover properly before you touch a sword again. Understand?"
Okita chuckled. Hime's in a mother hen mood again.
He watched Yuuto trying to protest about his spontaneous sword ban while he wondered just what had gone on within the workings of that game.
*~B~*
[November 13th, 2024. A hospital bedroom]
"Reya-chan?"
Kusaka Reya looked up. A couple were standing at the doorway. Her uncle and aunt. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay," her aunt exclaimed, walking up and hugging her.
"Aunt Haruno, where's Tou-san?" Reya asked.
An ominous feeling washed over her as she saw her aunt's lip tremble. She looked at her uncle, who tried to avoid her gaze. "Well, the important thing right now is that you're alive," her aunt said.
"Where's Tou-san?" Reya insisted.
"Inio is … he's not with us any longer," her aunt finally said.
Some invisible support inside Reya crumbled. She felt light-headed. It's a joke, she told herself. It's just a bad joke, and Tou-san is going to come through that door right now…
"Reya," Uncle Nobuhiko finally spoke up, "you'll be living with us once you've been discharged."
"No. No! I'm going to go back to Tou-san at our store!"
"Reya-chan, it'll be okay," her aunt tried comforting her. "Inio would want you to–"
"He's not dead! He – he can't be dead! He can't!"
"I'm sorry, Reya-chan," her aunt said, teary-eyed as she hugged her again. "I'm sorry."
Reya broke, and sobbed into her aunt's shoulder.
*~Ise~*
[January 24th, 2025]
I'd thought that I'd have a hell of a hard time adjusting after returning from Aincrad. And, well, for the most part, I was right. My parents refused to let me out of their sight initially. Hell, when I was allowed to go back home, I found a gift from my dad in my room: he'd actually gone out of his way to buy me a bunch of hentai DVDs. He even flat out said "you can do whatever you like in your room, so long as you don't leave our sight when you're outside … and you stay clean."
My parents were awesome, if a bit overbearing. And, well, I can't blame them. I hadn't seen them for two years.
The few friends I'd made before having put that damn helmet on had all moved on and left me behind. I thought about trying to get in touch with them, but something held me back. I wanted something else. I wanted to find the friends I'd made in that other world.
Mom was against me going to the substitute school when the call came, because she didn't want me associating with 'a dark part of his life' any more than necessary. Not like any of us had a choice – not going would have marked me suspicious.
It's a good thing I went, in the end. Amazingly, I ended up meeting and reconnecting with everyone I knew on Aincrad.
… almost. Almost everyone.
Genryuu and Rurin – real names Saji Genshirou and Nimura Ruruko – were the first two familiar faces I came across after a nerve-wracking interview of sorts with some government dude and the KoB leader from within SAO. While we were catching up, I ran across Klein. And then even Kirito showed up!
Him calling me Harem King caused Ruruko to mock-flinch away. They all ignored my protests that I was a changed man. Kirito did however sincerely say that he was glad to see me alive.
All things, considered, over the week, we all bonded pretty fast.
I learnt that Kirito – Kirigaya Kazuto – was the madman who'd beaten the game 25 floors early. And that the Flash, Yuuki Asuna, was his … 'wife'? Lucky bastard. We got along pretty well, and spent the past five days catching up with each other in between those cram-school-like classes. I even got to see him flabbergasted at learning (from Genryuu and Rurin, I wasn't that boastful) that I was the Berserker.
"Wait, all three of you live in Kuou?" Asuna asked, as the eight of us were sitting at a table together in the gigantic cafeteria.
"Yeah, I'll say. I was just as surprised," Genshirou replied.
Turns out Genshirou and Ruruko lived only a few streets down from where I lived. Small world, huh?
"So, what's your plan?" Kirito asked. "You guys wanna stay in this holding center for the foreseeable future? Or are you planning on giving the exam and applying to Kuou Academy?"
We were given two options here. One, to continue the remainder of our school years here while catching up to everything we had missed. Or two, if we could pass an exam, we'd be allowed to leave and apply to a school of our choosing.
"Yeah, that's what I wanna do for sure," I said uncertainly, "but, man, I missed out on two years of my life. Unless I can actually pull of the impossible and cover all that in the next two months, I dunno. And? What are you gonna do?"
Kirito paused, deep in thought. "Thinking that hard isn't good for your brain, Kirito," Shinozaki-san quipped.
"I think I'll apply to Kuou, too," Kirito thought out loud, ignoring Shinozaki. Asuna-san turned to stare at him. "I mean, it's gonna be uncomfortable going somewhere where I don't know anyone. Especially since I'm likely – we're all likely to be treated as pariahs. That's why they have us all in here to begin with. You're not staying here either, right, Asuna?"
"Of course she isn't," Shinozaki said. "Miss Honor Student here could get a passing grade in the exam if she put in about, um, 16.5% of effort. Also, rich people perks – she could be bailed out of here even if she didn't."
"You're also benefitting from said rich people perks, Liz," Asuna grumbled.
"And I'm also being dragged into your ridiculously excruciating study sessions! She's a devil, I tell you! A devil!" Shinozaki-san complained.
"Well, us ordinary mortals don't have it easy," Ruruko said, smirking. "Two years of material in two months? We'll be lucky to get the passing grade."
"Hmph. I've been getting a perfect score in sciences my whole life. I'll be fine," Kirito boasted.
After a moment of silence, "I did say us ordinary mortals," Ruruko repeated.
"Oi!"
"Kirito-kun," Asuna started in that deliberately sugar-sweet tone that always made Kirito flinch. "Remind me again what your score was in the humanities test I showed you? I can't seem to recall – did it cross into double digits?"
Klein – Tsuboi Ryoutarou – guffawed. Kirito wilted. Seeing the Black Swordsman look so whipped – man, was that a sight.
Genshirou smirked. "Hey, Kirigaya-san. Would you like to be tutored in the humanities?"
"No offense, but you don't look the type to be good at it."
"Oh, not me," he said, putting a hand on Ruruko's shoulder. She blushed at the contact. I still don't get how she manages to keep her crush hidden. "By this junior of yours here who's always scored above 90s."
"G-Gen! That was two years ago! I don't know if I can even pass now!"
Kirito stood up and bowed. "Please and thank you."
"…Kirigaya-san, you're asking a junior to teach you."
"I have no shame."
"He's telling the truth," Asuna added.
"How's this for a trade?" Kirito said, straightening. "I tutor all of you in the sciences. Nimura does the humanities. We all pitch in with anything else we're good at. Help each other out, you know, and get at least a passing grade so we can ditch this place."
"Ugh, I don't want to study," I groaned.
"That's a good idea," Ruruko said, making Genshirou groan. "Don't give me that look, Gen. Better to start sooner than later. Keiko-san, what about you?"
The last person at our table, Ayano Keiko, flinched lightly at being addressed. She was really shy. And cute. "M-my parents want me to become comfortable at home again. They think it would be best for me if I stayed back for now and transferred into school later in the year."
Ruruko frowned. "Won't you fall further behind, then?"
Keiko smiled uncertainly. "Maybe? But … I don't really want to stay away from home too long either. It's been so long…" she trailed off.
Yeah. We could all definitely relate to that.
"And what about you, Klein?" Kirito asked. "You look like a guy whose repeated high school several times. You sure you'll be okay?"
"Shaddup. I'm going back to Kyoto in a week, with the rest of Fuurinkazan."
"You live in Kyoto?" I asked, surprised. "How come you're here at this center then? More importantly, you're like a decade older than us, so what are you even doing here?"
"A chaperone, or something, I guess. Around half the adults here are gonna go home by next week, for now we're here so that we can be kept under watch and help keep watch on you kids, as Kirito so astutely pointed out. And I bought and used the damn helmet here. Should have just never bought it, eh?"
Should have just never bought it, was it?
Yeah, SAO was an experience that I definitely did not want to go through again. But … if I had the chance, would I want to erase my time there?
… No. For all the pain it gave me, I'd also made irreplaceable memories. I'd met people I'd have never met otherwise. I might have just remained a perverted loser with a porn collection way too large.
"Well, that's settled then!" Kirito said, clapping his hands together. "We're gonna use all the break times we have here and study our asses off! Our goal: to get the hell out of this place. All in favor, say aye!"
Nobody said a word.
"I think I'll bring you guys food from time to time," Asuna thought out loud.
Kirito's eyes widened. He turned to us with a mad gleam in his eyes. "If it means having Asuna's cooking, I'll physically drag you guys to the study sessions if I have to, got it?"
Whipped as all hell.
*~B~*
Once the day ended, Asuna's mother came to pick her up. And as luck would have it, Kirito was with her then, too.
"Asuna," her mother called, walking up to them.
"Ah, Mother."
Kirito paused and turned towards her. Asuna panicked internally. She knew it was unreasonable, but the fact remained that she was terrified of what her mother might think of Kirito.
Kyouko looked at Kirito. After a few seconds of scrutiny Kirito began to look uncomfortable. "You must be Kirito. I've heard a lot about you," she finally said.
"Ah, y-yeah. Asuna's told you about me?"
A faint smile graced her lips. "Not exactly."
Asuna frowned in confusion. What does she – wait. "Were … were you eavesdropping on me?!" Asuna protested.
"Your brother and father took turns, and I interrogated them afterwards. You shouldn't talk so loudly even if you think you and Rika will be unheard in your room."
"Mother!" Doesn't that mean she's heard everything I've said about him?! All the name-calling and-and-and all the … gah, this is embarrassing!
She then did something that astonished Asuna. She turned to Kirito and bowed. "Thank you for looking after my daughter. Thank you for beating that man and bringing her back."
Kirito was visibly flustered. "Eh?! Ah, I mean, yeah, anytime."
"Now then, it's time to go, Asuna," her mother said, straightening and walking away.
"Just a minute!" she called, and turned to Kirito. "See you tomorrow, Kirito-kun."
"Your mom is nicer than I thought she'd be. Take care."
The first thing Kyouko asked Asuna when Asuna caught up to her was, "Nicer than he thought, was it?"
"I said nothing."
"Of course."
"Why are you here today, anyway? Usually it's Nii-san or Father."
"Shouzou and Kouichirou are with Sugou at Argus, overseeing maintenance on that other game."
Alfheim Online. A second VRMMORPG that had been created a few months after the SAO incident had begun. Asuna's father's company had designed a new VR device – the AmuSphere – without, of course, the deadly side effect of the NerveGear. Asuna's father had put a man named Sugou Nobuyuki in charge of overseeing the game.
Asuna didn't trust him. Every time she had met him since returning to the real world, it felt as though she was being covered in slime. She couldn't explain why she felt that way, other than the fact that he reminded her a bit of Kuradeel. She disliked the fact that she was forced to interact with him every time he was at her house – he came often and he always tried to strike up a conversation with her.
Asuna's father trusted him, so Asuna bore with it and always showed courtesy. In addition, he was also a Devil in Ajuka Beelzebub's employ, so Asuna put her feelings aside.
"I can't believe they put him in charge of something that important," Asuna said. "Shouldn't something that was made in coalition with the Norse side be in the hands of someone … I don't know, a lot more important?"
"They do their part, and we do ours. I've heard enough of Shouzou's complaints about being handed such a big job already, don't you start too. This is a great honor."
"Yes, Mother," Asuna sighed.
Someone jogged past them and Kyouko stopped in her tracks. "Is something wrong?" Asuna asked.
"… No, it's nothing. Just a coincidence. I thought I felt a faint magician's aura just now."
*~B~*
Even once they were out of the game, Tsuboi Ryoutarou, aka Klein, was already resigned to Kirito continuing to surprise him even if the idiot himself wasn't aware of it.
Somehow, the idiot had ended up at the center of a group that consisted of basically all the players of Aincrad that weren't ordinary humans. There was Ryoutarou himself and his guild, onmyouji from Kyoto. There was Ise, who Ryoutarou could now clearly sense wielded Boosted Gear. One of Ise's friends had another dragon-based Gear. Ayano Keiko, the small Dragon Tamer as she was called inside the game, actually had traces of a dragon on her. Not to mention Asuna and Kiba, the two Devils from the front lines.
Poor, ignorant Klein had thought that that would be all.
"Oi, Sugu! Over here!" Kirito called. A tracksuit-wearing girl with short black hair who vaguely resembled Kirito noticed them and came over. "Guys, this is Suguha, my sister. No leering, Klein," Kirito warned.
Klein's senses struck gold and he almost snorted.
Because of course Kirito's sister was a freaking magician. "Whaddya take me for, eh, Kirito?" he said, shaking his head.
"Onii-chan, you haven't introduced them yet," Suguha said.
"Right. That guy with the perverted look in his eyes is Hyoudou Issei."
"Oi."
"The sandy haired guy is Saji Genshirou, twintails is Nimura Ruruko, and that's Ayano Keiko."
"No description for me, Kirito-san?" Silica asked, smiling.
"You're kinda blunt with introductions, aintcha?" Ise grumbled.
"Lastly that tall, crude-looking guy is Klein."
"Tsuboi Ryoutarou," Klein said, seeing that Kirito wouldn't be giving him a proper introduction.
Suguha bowed lightly. "It's nice to meet you all. Thanks for looking after Onii-chan."
"By the way, why are you wearing that? Weren't you at school?" Kirito asked.
"Errr … accident. Anyways, let's go, Mom's waiting! We're eating out today."
"Ahh, oi, don't pull!"
Klein couldn't blame her for dragging Kirito away like that. Poor girl had probably been rattled by Kirito's choice in acquaintances. Also it was a funny sight.
Silica smiled after them. "It looks like they've made up," she said.
"Hmm? Keiko-san?"
"A-ah, it's nothing, Ruruko-chan. Kirito-san ended up telling me about his sister when I met him on Aincrad, and he said they had a strained relationship. So … it's nice to see that they've made up, is all," Silica finished, laughing nervously.
Saji elbowed Ise in the gut sharply. "You were staring," he accused.
"Was not!"
"I saw your eyes move, you voyeur."
"It was a momentary glance! They stick out!"
"Yeah, just dig yourself deeper, why don't ya?"
"I'm disappointed in you, Ise-san," Ruruko said, shaking her head. "What would … that reminds me," she said, her tone turning serious. "Ise-san, have you heard anything about…?"
Ise sighed deeply. "I asked Kikuoka and whoever else would listen. They told me they'd look into it, but so far they've said jack shit." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "Hey, can we go inside for now? I can't shake this feeling that I'm being watched."
Klein frowned. Being watched? He extended his senses.
Something or someone was high up in the trees in the park across the road.
*~B~*
"Hey, you were right," said someone high up in the trees in the park across the road. The person took a bite into another potato chip.
[Of course I was, this is straight out of Azazel-sama's records,] said the voice coming out a communications circle beside the person's ear.
"You know that what you're planning is going against his direct orders, right?" Another bite.
[And you're helping me. Your point?]
"Just checking again." A third bite.
[…Are you eating chips?]
"Surveillance makes me hungry, okay?! It isn't easy to keep hiding myself and stay on alert for anyone in the vicinity! So sorry if I need sustenance!"
[Remind me again why I sent you?]
"Let's see, Dohnaseek doesn't know the meaning of the word subtle, and you and Kalawarner stick out like strippers in a monastery."
[Your fashion sense consists of Goth Lolita dresses and nothing else.]
"And I'm also the one person whose senses and hiding skill are good enough for this. I'm doing your job for you here, so stop complaining."
[Whatever. You have eyes on him?]
"Yep. For a guy holding a Longinus he looks … boring. Absorption Line is here, too. You wanna add him to the hit list?"
[No need. Absorption Line on its own isn't powerful enough for us to need to do anything.]
"Hey, why can't I just kill Boosted Gear tonight?" Mittelt asked, waving her legs around as she watched the group of five at the gates of the school, perched on a branch.
[Too risky. We'd draw way too much attention. There's too many people at that place with powers. You said he's returning to Kuou permanently after two months?]
"Ohhh, no, nooooo you don't, Raye. You call this place dangerous, Kuou is even more risky to kill him in. That's actual Devil territory."
[If we deal with him fast enough, there'll be nothing to worry about. Just keep watching.]
Mittelt opened her mouth to respond, but stopped, frowning. "… That'll have to be put on hold for now."
The older guy that was with Boosted Gear was staring right at her. A warning flare of power made Mittelt smile humorlessly. "There's an onmyouji-sama here who's looking right at me. I'm gonna retreat for now."
[… Fine. Pull back for now. We're not going to do anything until his school year starts anyway. Let's go back and look for that Twilight Healing girl.] The circle blinked out.
"Do you want to draw attention with his death or not, which is it?" Mittelt muttered as she jumped down and vanished from sight. "Seriously, why not just skewer him on his way home tonight…?"
*~B~*
Suguha was freaking out internally.
Three! Three of them had a dragon's trace on them! What is that crazy encounter rate, Onii-chan?! And that older guy definitely knew what I am!
"Hey, Sugu," Kazuto spoke up. "You look disturbed."
"I-I'm fine. Maybe I'm just surprised that you actually have more than zero friends."
Kazuto fake hit her shoulder. "Anyways, there's something I want to talk to you and Mom about."
"What is it?"
"I think I'm gonna go to Kuou Academy … Suguha?"
Suguha was silent for a count of ten. She had the feeling that her expression would have made an excellent macro for online message boards.
Next thing I know, she grumbled mentally, he's gonna tell me that the two Devils I passed on the way here today are actually his girlfriend and her mother.
*~Kirito~*
The months that led up to me finding a small apartment in Kuou with Mom's help were relatively uneventful.
I had to fight for my decision for a few days. Mom wasn't willing to let me go and live by myself somewhere pretty far away even by train, especially not after I'd been away for two years. Suguha was even more forceful on the matter. At one point she'd blurted out that 'anywhere but Kuou would be fine' and clammed up when I asked what she meant.
On a related note, according to Ise, the train ride from his house to Quarantine Central was pretty long and tiring. He complained about having to wake up very early every day. Given that it wasn't particularly a short ride from my place to QC either, well, Kuou was kinda impractical.
It wasn't like I wanted to stay away from home. I could have gotten admitted to a nearby high school if I wanted. Heck, the high school Suguha was planning to apply to had a great Computer Club.
… I guess being with Asuna weakened my loner habits. Not just Asuna – I'd never admit it out loud, but I'd made some friends that I didn't want to lose contact with. That was a first for me, who'd spent his whole life up until SAO with his head inside his computer monitor.
It wasn't like I was following Asuna to Kuou. She was still undecided as to what school she wanted to apply to. She had less options too, since she'd be a third year student come April. Ise, Saji and Nimura were all set on going to Kuou Academy though, and well, it's embarrassing to admit, but I didn't want to be left out. Additionally, according to Asuna, Kiba should be there too. I wanted to spar with him in kendo.
Ultimately I managed to convince them and they decided to help me with it. Suguha still seemed to have issues with my decision but she didn't say anything. Her secretiveness kinda worried me.
For about two months the four of us took study sessions whenever possible. Our goal was to at least get that passing grade. It was incredibly difficult to motivate Ise into working, but ultimately all of us barely got through.
Speaking of Ise, Suguha and him didn't seem to get along. Whenever they met, they'd start arguing within minutes. It was amusing to see Suguha pouting angrily, but it confused me. "He feels like a bad luck magnet," she'd told me. That made no sense to me.
Asuna and I went on a date on Valentine's Day, which was going really well until Asuna spotted Liz and Silica spying on us. We gave them a show. A red-faced Silica refused to meet our eyes for two days.
In early March, we went looking for Agil's café along with Klein. We finally found it when the sun was about to set. That was a fun night.
Somehow, in all that time, I'd never managed to get Asuna to meet with my family. Even Suguha never got to see her. It felt weird to me but I dismissed the thought.
And finally, at the end of March, I was on the train to Kuou. Didn't have much baggage with me – I'd gone there with Suguha and Mom a few days beforehand to set up my place. I made several promises to come home every weekend or so. Suguha told me to stay safe, which kicked my paranoia into high gear. I wasn't heading into Morioh, was I? [1]
And for some reason, I found Asuna on the train.
"…Uh, blindsiding you with spontaneous actions is supposed to be my job," I said.
Asuna smiled. "Don't worry, I'm getting off at the next stop anyway."
She was wearing a white shirt under a blue jacket, a sky-blue skirt, and high grey stockings. There was a bag on her lap. A bunch of rude idiots were blatantly staring at her, which irritated me a bit.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
Asuna patted the seat beside her. "I wanted some time alone with you before you reached Kuou. I see you're completely set on it."
"Okay, seriously, can someone tell me what it is that's wrong with Kuou?" I grumbled. "Even Suguha said that anywhere but Kuou would be fine with her. What kind of crazy Stand users live there?"
"Once again, I have no idea what the last sentence even means," Asuna muttered. "Is Suguha your sister?" I nodded. "Hmm. That's interesting. And there's nothing really wrong with Kuou. You should be fine."
"'Should be'?"
"You're Aincrad's hero, you can survive anything."
"Technically I didn't survive it." Well, I did but I also got in-game killed by Heathcliff so, did that count as me surviving it?
"Ah, so I'm talking to your ghost, then? In that case you have even less to worry about. Who would even disturb a snarky and lazy ghost, let alone try to harm it?"
"The Ghostbusters? Or that Occult Research Club that Kuou supposedly has."
Asuna giggled. "Why are we even seriously discussing this?"
"Cause you just like listening to my amazing voice. And vice versa."
"I can believe the latter, but the former is, hmm, iffy," she teased.
"I feel so unappreciated right now," I said in mock disappointment.
The train began slowing down, about to reach the next stop. "Can you do me a favor, Kirito-kun?" Asuna then asked.
"Sure," I replied without hesitation.
Asuna rummaged through her bag and took out an oblong blue velvet-wrapped box. It looked expensive.
"I want you to keep this for me. Don't open it," Asuna added, before handing it over. "Just keep this safe for me for a while, okay?"
"What's in it?" I asked.
Asuna smiled enigmatically. "Secret. And…" she paused, looking troubled. "It's just a feeling I have, but I think right now, it would be safer for me to leave this with you."
"Safer? Asuna, is something wrong?" I asked, frowning.
"No, it's probably nothing. I'll tell you about it later, okay?" she said as the train rolled to a stop. Asuna gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "See you later, Kirito-kun," she said, and got off the train. I lost sight of her in the crowd seconds later.
Something was off with her. I could feel it. There was something she wasn't telling me yet.
Still, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't trust her? I put the box in my bag and leaned back, sighing.
Kuou was still a while away.
[1] – . Morioh is the fictional setting of parts 4 and 8 of JoJo. In part 4 particularly, the driving subplot was the series of unexplained disappearances in the town. It's a dangerous place, with all them Stand users running amuck.
*~B~*
'Takeda-sensei' walked towards the subject's room, going over the possible options. They wanted her Sacred Gear, but they needed to find a way to extract her from the hospital without raising suspicion. It was hard enough to keep eleven Sacred Gear users that were SAO survivors under their eye with their locations hidden from the general public. Any sudden movements would render all that work for naught. Getting just eleven of them under their thumb had been hard enough.
Then there was the intriguing matter of her chronic debilitating headaches. 'Takeda' wasn't sure whether it was due to her having already activated her Sacred Gear or not, or whether or not it would affect the Gear Removal process.
No matter. He estimated that in approximately a week, her Sacred Gear along with the dozen others, would belong to them and she would be yet another unfortunate death.
He opened the door to her room and froze.
The far window was open, and there was no one in the bed.
*~B~*
Well. This is a thing that happened, I guess. One loooong, messy setup chapter with a bunch of character interactions thrown in. Necessary, though. Maybe I could have spaced it apart into two or three chapters but that would be real slow.
Who else got duped by the Fairy Dance-esque first bit? It wasn't my intention, but hey.
And Asuna is awake! Does this mean that ALO won't happen? Hmm, then again, Sugou is still around and plotting.
Other things that happened: Rias and Sona's newest Servants as of early DxD plus Kirito are now buddies. Argo is on the run. Poor Reya having to deal with another nightmare just as she escaped one. And Raynare's group already having an eye on Ise.
There are reasons other than plot convenience as to why Asuna hasn't yet met Suguha.
So this is that, a rough, messy connecter between Aincrad and DxD's start. I'm halfway asleep right now so I probably should just finish up.
Random sidenote: this chapter was gonna be called Convergence, but then we started Astrophysics and talked about accretion … which is basically the perfect description of the fact that all these future powerful peeps are heading to one place.
Next time: death, death, death, death and death … and buildup towards death. Also some non-death stuff but it's the deaths everyone wants to see, ain't it?
Punitor567 out. El Psy Congroo.
I wonder how much Suguha has to hold back in kendo to make it not seem like she's on steroids.