A/N:Hey readers. Time is ticking away to the release of Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet. I hope you guys are looking forward to it as much as I am.
Sayaka woke up in her bedroom after logging out of ALO. She had cried in the woods near Coral for who knew how long. But even after all that, the tears came rushing back the second she removed the Amu Sphere from her head and sat up.
'Why? Why does Naoki seem to notice every single girl except for me?!' Sayaka asked herself. She laid back down on her bed and curled up, hugging a large plushie on her bed as tears flowed down her face.
She remembered back when she was younger, when all her friends and her were younger. Even back then, Naoki loved to flirt. But even though he kept getting shot down, he never let himself feel down. He always got back up after every rejection and stayed positive. Some would see that as stupid and stubborn. Sayaka saw that as determined and positive.
Naoki was always so brave. He never hesitated on doing something, he just did it. She on the other hand had always been nervous and shy. Even back when she first started playing ALO she had picked the role of white mage out of her group because she was afraid of messing up in battle. And even still, she hadn't had full confidence in her abilities as a healer for some time at the start of her time in ALO.
Naoki was everything she wished she could be. And over time, that turned into her starting to have feelings for him.
'And yet he never seems to notice me. Every time he flirts with me it's as a joke. Is that really all I am to him?'
Sayaka didn't know how long she was crying in her room because eventually her mother came up to her room. She knocked on the door before opening it and peeking her head in. "Sayaka, dinner will be ready in-" The rest of the statement died on Rika's tongue when she saw her daughter crying on her bed. She quickly came in and sat on her daughter's bed. "Sayaka, what's wrong? What happened?"
"I… I…" Sayaka tried to wipe her eyes, but failed as wet tears could still be seen on her face. "I got my heart broken."
A frown came to Rika's face as she brought her daughter in for a hug while gently rubbing her back. "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. I know it's hard, believe me. Was this a boy at school?"
Sayaka shook her head. "Not exactly."
Her mother could only assume it was someone Sayaka had met in ALO then. A boy breaking her daughter's heart in the virtual world. She couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu from when she was trapped in Sword Art Online.
"He never even noticed me." Sayaka wept. "Mom… I feel so pathetic."
"Trust me Sayaka, I get it. I know exactly how you feel." Rika told her daughter, not letting her out of the comforting hug.
"You do?"
Rika nodded her head. "You know your Uncle Kazuto, Yui and Strea's dad? Believe it or not, I had a thing for him not long after we first met."
"You had a crush on Yui and Strea's dad?" Sayaka asked.
"Oh big time." Rika said with a nod. "I was head over heels for him."
"What happened?"
"Well I was about to confess my feelings for him, but right then and there I saw that your Aunt Asuna had feelings for him too. Feelings that probably dated long back before he and I even met. So I backed off, letting Asuna have him. But even after that, I couldn't stop having feelings for him." Rika let out a sigh as she nostalgically thought back on those old memories. "It took me a long time to get over him. Actually it was probably about the time your father first asked me out to prom that I finally did get over him."
"So what am I supposed to do? Just feel like this until some other guy comes around? I'm not sure I can do that mom." Sayaka told her.
"I know dear. It's never easy having your heart broken." Rika said soothingly. "So what was the reason? He already had a girlfriend?"
Sayaka shook her head. "No. It's just… he never notices me. I'm starting to think that he never will."
Rika realized then that this boy Sayaka was in love with hadn't flat out rejected her. She was just tired of him never realizing she loved her, another feeling that she could relate to. "Sayaka tell me, this boy. Do you still love him?"
Sayaka nodded her head. "I do, but…"
"No buts. You still love him and that's what's important." her mother said as she finally let Sayaka out of the hug. "Sayaka, if you still love him then you need to let him know how you feel. It may not be easy. You might fall flat on your face a hundred times before you succeed. But as long as you love him, you need to keep trying."
"I don't know if I can. I'm not strong enough mom."
"Yes you are." Rika said as she gently stroked her daughter's hair. "Sayaka, I've watched you grow up your entire life. Believe me when I say your strong. And being in love is only going to make you stronger. Just remember that your mom has your back, whenever you need it."
Sayaka continued to sob, but managed a small smile as she gave a slight nod of her head. "I'll try mom."
"That's my girl." Rika said encouragingly. She got up from the bed. "Dinner will be ready soon. I'll call you when it's time to come down."
As her mother walked out of her room and closed the door behind her, Sayaka continued to lay on her bed. Tears rolled down her face, but there was also hope in her heart. Hope that she could do this, and tell Naoki how she felt.
The school bell echoed throughout the building, signalling the end of the school day. Naoki walked out of class and stretched his arms out while letting out a yawn.
'Man, that was so boring. What do I care about interpreting how the writer feels?' Naoki thought silently as he walked through the halls towards the gate to go home.
As he walked, he contemplated what to do for the afternoon. 'Maybe I'll see if everyone can hang in ALO.' he thought. Thinking about his friends, the red haired teen's mind drifted to Sayaka. 'What the heck was up with her the other day anyway? Maybe I'll ask her if I see her in ALO.'
"Hey Naoki~!"
Hearing his name called, Naoki turned and saw a long haired brunette girl with emerald eyes coming his way. The girl stopped right next to him and showed an bright smile. "It's been awhile Naoki."
"Hang on… Do I know you?" Naoki asked, feeling that he had seen the girl somewhere before. Suddenly the answer hit him as he snapped his fingers. "That's right! You were in my class back in middle school! Yuzuki, right?"
"That's right. I'm so happy to hear to remember me." Yuzuki nodded happily. "So how have you been."
Naoki sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Not that great. I've been dealing with some creepy girl stalking me."
"C-Creepy?" Yuzuki almost lost her smile, knowing he was most likely talking about her.
"Yeah. She came up to me in ALO and started attacking me, acting like it was some way to get me to fall in love with her. And what's even worse is that she seems to know me IRL too, since she stuck a love letter in my locker."
"Well… maybe this girl just doesn't know how to properly explain her feelings towards you?" Yuzuki suggested. "Maybe you should give her a chance."
"I'd rather not deal with the crazy-type." Naoki explained.
Yuzuki hid her frown. 'Darn, and I was going to tell him it was me so hopefully he'd see how I felt about him. But I can't now. He'll just try to run away from me. This requires a new plan of attack.'
"I still say you should try and give her a chance to explain herself, Naoki." Yuzuki told him. "Anyway… I just remembered I had plans, so I'll see you later." she quickly ran off down the hall. "Bye Naoki! It was nice catching up with you!"
Naoki watched as Yuzuki quickly ran away. He scratched his head. 'She's still the same weirdo she was back in middle school. Oh well, as least she's not a nutcase like Yukina. God I hope I don't run into her today.'
With nothing left for him today at school, Naoki started his walk home. He was lucky that his house wasn't too far away from school, roughly a fifteen minute walk.
As he walked in the door, Naoki saw his mother was already home. "Hey mom, you're home early."
"Just got home about five minutes ago." Lilina explained. "How was school?"
"Fine. I'm gonna go play ALO for a bit. See you later."
"Just be sure to log off before dinner!" Lilina called out to her son as he ran up to his room.
Naoki just barely heard his mother as he got upstairs. He went into his room and put his Amu Sphere on his head, diving into the virtual world. "Link Start!"
The red haired teen left the real world and awoke in the virtual world in the form of his Salamander avatar. Walking out of the inn he had logged out from, he contemplated what to do. He had a couple hours to kill so maybe he'd see if any of his friends were online.
"I found you."
The sound of the voice sent a chill down Naoki's spine. He slowly turned his head towards the player that had just spoken to him, praying he was wrong or that this was all a horrible nightmare. But he was right and this was no nightmare. Standing before him was the last player he wanted to see.
Yukina
Sayaka walked into her house, done with school for the day. She didn't need to help out her mother at the store, leaving her afternoon free.
She thought about going on ALO for a bit, but as she did her mind drifted to Naoki. What if she saw him online? She still wasn't entirely sure what to do or how to confess how she felt towards him. And she'd have to if they met, since she had ran away crying the last time they saw each other.
'Maybe I'll get lucky and just be able to meet up with some people without Naoki being there.' Sayaka thought.
As Sayaka sat down on her bed, she fit her Amu Sphere around her head. Closing her eyes, she laid down.
"Link Start!"
When Sayaka opened the eyes of her avatar, she awoke in the inn she had rented a room from. She swiped her menu to take a look at who was online at the moment, but before she went to her Friend's List, her eyes caught sight of a new message, one addressed to her and her friends.
As she opened the message, she frowned when she saw it was from Naoki. Then her eyes widened when she took a quick glance at the message itself.
Guys, anybody, you gotta help me! That crazy girl Yukina showed up again, and she's chasing me all over! I thought I lost her in Yggdrasil City, but now she's on my tail. Please, whoever reads this first help me ASAP. -Naoki
Sayaka stared at the message. Yukina was harassing Naoki again. Based on what Naoki had told them all from their first encounter, she couldn't help but feel a sort of similarity with the girl. Both of them seemed to like Naoki, but didn't know how to properly express their feelings. But at the same time, they were also opposites in a sense. She was too shy about confessing her feelings, unable to say it to him. Yukina on the other hand seemed far too up front with her approach.
But how she compared with Yukina didn't matter. What mattered was Naoki was in trouble and he needed help. She recalled her mother's words.
"You might fall flat on your face a hundred times before you succeed. But as long as you love him, you need to keep trying."
Steeling her resolve, Sayaka got off of the bed and rushed out of the inn. She looked at Naoki's current location through her Friend's List and took off in that direction.
'I don't care if I fall flat on my face a hundred times or even a million times. I'm going to show Naoki I care about him. Otherwise Yukina might convince him first and I'll regret it for the rest of my life.'
"Naoki, please! Just let me explain!"
"Explain what?! That you're a psycho?! Trust me, I have that much figured out!"
Naoki had tried his best to flee from Yukina in the air. But Yukina seemed desperate to get him in her clutches, even going so far to the point of using an ice spell to freeze his legs. Now he was stuck on the ground with no way to run away from the Undine girl.
"Naoki I'm sorry you felt creeped out by me the other day. I see now that you took it the wrong way." Yukina told him, pleading for him to understand.
"You! Attacked! Me! How was I supposed to take it?!"
"I was trying to prove my worthiness to you! That I could make you happy!"
Naoki groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look I get that you like me, but attacking me was not how you should go about impressing a guy. And you acted even creepier by placing that love letter in my locker!"
"I just wanted to show you that I love you!" Yukina told him with tears in her eyes. "Naoki it's me! It's-"
"Get away from him!"
Naoki and Yukina both had widened eyes as a new arrival came speeding in. Yukina instinctively jumped back, shocked as she saw another female Undine swing a staff down at where she had just been standing.
"Sayaka?!" Naoki gasped.
Yukina glared at the new girl. "Who are you? I'm trying to have a conversation with my soon-to-be boyfriend."
"Naoki doesn't like you!" Sayaka told her sternly. "You can't force a person to like you and then attack them just because you don't get your way!"
Naoki blinked his eyes in surprise. He rarely saw the shy friend of his get this emotional. He had also doubted that she of all people would come to his rescue considering their last encounter.
"And what would you know?!" Yukina argued back. "There's no one that's more suited to be Naoki's girlfriend than me! I'm just trying to make him see that!"
"That's still no excuse! You can't-"
"Do you have any idea what it's like?! To look at someone and love them, but they hardly know you exist?! To be forced to stare at them from afar, wondering if they'll ever notice you?!"
Sayaka stared Yukina directly in the eye. "I know exactly what that's like. I get it, more than you may realize. Because…" She turned to Naoki and looked at him with a caring expression. Naoki realized what Sayaka was about to say only just before the words escaped her mouth.
"Because… I like you Naoki. I like you a lot."
The male Salamander was left slack jawed as he stared at Sayaka. To think both the Undines acting crazy towards him would also both have feelings for him. He had always wanted a girl to care about him like this, but the way this was happening was just too weird.
"Oh no you don't!" Yukina's voice caused both Sayaka and Naoki to turn their attention to her. "I did not work up the courage and work this hard just to be pushed aside by some silly little mage!" She pushed Sayaka away and got up close to Naoki. "Naoki, I've loved you for so long! Ever since you called me cute back at the school camping trip!"
"The school camping trip?" Naoki asked with a raised brow. "You mean back when I was in middle school?"
"Naoki it's me! Yuzuki!"
For the second time, Naoki found himself with his mouth wide open. "Yuzuki! YOU'RE Yukina?!"
The ivory haired Undine nodded her head. "Naoki… I love you! I promise I can make you happier than this girl!"
"I've known Naoki since we were little!" Sayaka argued.
Naoki blinked his eyes in surprise. "Uhh… girls?"
Both Sayaka and Yukina didn't pay attention to Naoki, too focused on each other. Yukina showed a sly smirk to Sayaka. "Haven't you seen this scenario played out in stories? Well I have, and let me tell you something." She leaned in towards Sayaka and spoke in a condescending tone. "The childhood friend never wins. Especially when the childhood friend is someone like you. You're even flatter than your personality."
Naoki had almost never seen Sayaka get mad as long as he had known her. But with the comment Yukina made, rage flashed in Sayaka's eyes as she lunged at Yukina. She attempted to draw her sword, but Sayaka tackled her before she could do so and the sword fell to the ground. Now Naoki was stuck with his leg frozen as the two Undine girls struggled against each other on the ground.
'I was not ready for today.' Naoki silently thought.
Yukina managed to throw Sayaka off her with a kick to the gut. She then leaped at Sayaka and pinned her to the ground. Sayaka clawed at Yukina while the ivory haired Undine had a hand pushing Sayaka's face into the ground.
"Naoki isn't yours!" Sayaka yelled.
"Yes he is!" Yukina snarled back.
Sayaka managed to roll to the side, getting herself on top of the fellow Undine girl. She tried to keep Yukina pinned down but was quickly thrown off. Both girls got to their feet at the same time and rushed each other. Their hands locked with each other's and the two became deadlocked in a test of strength. Being a mage, Sayaka barely focussed on her STR stat. However, by some miracle, she was managing to just barely hold her own against Yukina.
"You fight pretty well for a mage." Yukina grunted.
Sayaka glared back at her. "You'd be surprised what I can do when I'm angry."
The two girls continued their grappling match, pushing each other back. Finally Yukina won out with her superior STR stat and shoved Sayaka away. She rushed in with a punch to the gut, but Sayaka responded in kind with a hook to the face. Both girls stumbled back a few steps as they glared at each other. With a loud cry, they both kicked off the ground and prepared to continue the fight. But before they could reach each other, Naoki appeared suddenly in between them, his feet finally thawed out from the ice.
"Alright, that's enough, both of you." Naoki said, blocking the two girls off from each other. "I'm ending this fight now."
Yukina crossed her arms. "Hmph, go ahead and tell her to leave then Naoki, so we can continue our alone time."
"That's another thing that's ending right now." Naoki said, glancing at Yukina. "Look Yukina… no, Yuzuki. I'm flattered you like me this much. Really. But I can't honestly say I feel the same way. All the obsessive stalking and love letters, it's… well, it's just creepy and kind of a turn off." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't love you Yuzuki."
"But… you said I was cute…"
"I've said a lot of girls were cute, and I mean A LOT. It's a part of me that I'm not honestly proud of as of late." Naoki explained. "I'm sorry, but that's how it is."
Tears welled up in Yukina's eyes as she tried to process this. "I'll make you love me Naoki! I promise! Just wait and see!" Crying out tears like a waterfall, Yukina brought out her wings and took off in the distance.
Naoki let out a sigh. "Geez, school's not gonna be fun whenever I run into her in the hallway."
"Um… Naoki…?" Sayaka spoke up.
Before Sayaka could say anything further, Naoki held his hand up in front of her to signal for her to stop. "Sayaka, me telling Yukina no doesn't mean I'm telling you yes. Right now… I need time to think. I'm not necessarily saying no. This is all a lot to take in at once, and I don't want to rush into anything. I hope you can understand."
A frown came to Sayaka's face, but she managed a nod. "I understand Naoki. I'm just glad I was able to work up the courage to tell you how I felt."
"I appreciate how tough that must have been for you." Naoki said. He turned to leave. "Well then… see you later."
Sayaka held back the urge to call out to Naoki again as he flew off. If she tried to force him on this, she'd be no different from what Yukina was trying to do. She let out a sigh. 'Well at least I was able to confess my feelings to him. Now I just need to hope he feels the same way.'
With the feeling of a giant weight off her chest, Sayaka spread her wings and took off into the air. Just like Naoki, she needed to clear her head for the moment.
A/N: So I know some of you were expecting Naoki and Sayaka to get together this chapter, so sorry to disappoint you guys. Next chapter however, I have something planned I think you'll all be excited for.
On another note, Marcus Cersey, author of Arctic Swordsman, has recently started a Fairy Tail fic. Two of the OCs in it are Dan and Alicia from Wyvern's Inferno, so if you like Fairy Tail and/or like Marcus's work (seriously, the guy's an awesome writer) be sure to check it out and leave a review.
