"Ahhh! That hits the spot." The bottle hit the counter with a slam, Klein raising his hand for another. Kazuto looked on with a raised eyebrow as Agil placed another cheap beer on the counter, sliding it to them.
"You realize that's your third bottle, right?" Klein gave him a grin as he popped it open.
"Eh, what can I say, I have a high tolerance." I doubt that. Kazuto noted the slight sway in Kleins demeanor, as well as the light blush colouring his cheeks. He might not be drunk, but he was getting there.
Kazuto had ended up staying in the hospital for three days. After the first, Asuna and his friends were notified of his location, as well as a watered down version of what happened. Asuna was pissed and worried in equal measures, although that argument was much shorter and less heated.
After the third day he was discharged and Kleined claimed a guy's night out was just what he needed for recovery. For that, Kazuto was grateful. It gave him a full night of blissful peace from the girls. However the trade off was having to stay at Dicey's Cafe with an intoxicated Klein. Another bottle slamming down broke his train of thought, though this one thankfully not empty.
"So Kiri-dude, when you gonna tell me what's bothering you?" Kazuto blinked, not expecting the sudden subject change.
"What are you talking about? I'm fine." He sipped on his own beer, cringing at the taste.
"The hell you are. You've been a sour puss ever since you woke up. What happened? You and the missus get into an argument?" Kazuto lightly punched Klein in the arm, causing the man to laugh and take a swig. He put it down a moment later, content to wait for an answer. For a few moments all that could be heard was the dull chatter of others in the full bar, and some American song playing on the jukebox.
"Ugh ok. Fine I'll tell you. But promise me you won't tell Asuna any of this." Klein waived the air with his hand
"No worries, you're my bro. My lips are sealed." Heh, yeah Klein is loyal like that.
"Ok first off, it's about Sinon." Kleins grin grew to shit-eating proportions. "Hey, no wrong ideas" Although not exactly wrong. "The main thing is what happened at the waterfront, but also the week before." Klein's face grew serious, concerned even. That alone was enough for Kazuto to tell him the full story. The version they heard was from Kikuokas official report, as such it had voided some of the more personal and gruesome details. He told Klein of the feelings he'd felt in the safehouse, the rage- as well as the fear- he'd felt at the docks. Klein stayed silent through all of it, the only sounds from him being from shock. He then told him about the few days of him and Shino living together, and the events that occured during. After a good fifteen minute explanation, he finally sat back with a sigh, taking a swig while Klein gathered his thoughts.
"Well, as shocking as most of that is, I don't really see the problem."
"The problem is... I think I'm falling for Shino." Kazuto waited for words, perhaps of damnation or just disappointment. Instead he got Klein blinking stupidly, before a sly grin took his face once more.
"Wait thats it? Thats your big problem?" He started laughing, like a dam breaking it all came out leaving Kazuto to sit in minor annoyance. "I thought it was gonna be some big reveal, and you have a crush?! This is priceless!" He continued to laugh, even attracting the attention of some other patrons. Kazuto wilted under their gaze. He waited for Klein to calm down before continuing, the laughter finally trailing off.
"It's not just a crush. And that's not the problem. I'm engaged to Asuna. I can't have a crush on another woman, that's like cheating on her!" Klein gave him a look that was a strange mix of pitying and deadpan.
"Seriously Kirito? That's naive, even for you. Level with me, You're about eighteen right now, right?" He waited for Kazuto's nod before continuing. "Exactly. Most boys your age have already been in tons of small relationships. Hell, on average most men don't marry till their 30's. Meanwhile here you are, engaged to the first girl you dated and barely coming out of high school. Honestly with how you and Asuna are I'm surprised it's lasted this long." Kazuto started at that, shock reaching his face.
"W-what do you mean? Why would that be surprising?" Klein took another swig before continuing, the look on his face suggesting he was trying to figure out how to word it.
"Look, I'm not gonna mince words here. You and Asuna's relationship is a glass house, and tiny rocks are getting thrown at it constantly. Don't get me wrong, you two definitely band together well during crisis or traumatic events, but that's not exactly something to base a whole relationship on." He took another drink, reading himself to explain further. "Heres a good way to put it. What's the biggest romantic thing you two did in SAO." Kazuto's mind flashed back to the night of Kuradeels death, and red coloured his cheeks.
"Well it wasn't, uh, romance per say." He coughed in his hand, embarrassment clear. "We had some, erm, physical...relations..." Kleins eyebrow went up, an unimpressed look on his face.
"You know you can say sex right. It's just the two of us." Kazutos face resembled a tomato, and Klein finally broke down in laughter. "Ahhh that's perfect. But I'm surprised you guys figured out how to do that. But anyway, the point I'm making is ever since you came back to the real world, has anything like that happened since?" Kazuto shook his head furiously
"N-no of course not! Not even in game. The most we've done is a kiss here and there." Klein snapped his fingers and pointed at him.
"Exactly. Now on the other hand if what you told me about little Miss Asada is true then even out of the game, you two are still all over each other. Do you see where I'm going with this?" Kazuto nodded
"Your saying that with Asuna the relationship was more pronounced in SAO, and is now more null. Whereas with Sinon the closeness and comfort around one another is the same no matter the situation." Klein made a click with his tongue
"Got it in one" Kazuto hesitated, not very sure of what he was saying anymore.
"But...I'm engaged to Asuna, and I've been with her for years. I can't just throw that away." Klein called over another beer to replace Kazutos, who didn't even realize he finished his.
"I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying you need to put more thought into this. You can't just say 'Well I'm engaged to Asuna so it's obviously true love' and leave it at that. You need to consider which one you really wanna be with, if either." Kazuto took a swig of his new drink, considering Kleins words. He certainly was gonna have a lot to think about tonight.
Shino was still fuming from the thorough dressing down Kazuto had given her. At the same time her mind lingered on the parting words between them. It was for that reason that Sinon didn't notice the cabin was occupied when logging into ALO. She turned to find Leafa there, studying for an upcoming test. The girl noticed her there and smiled brightly, giving sinon a wave. She sheepishly returned it, before walking over to the opposite couch and sitting. Sinon slowly got lost in thought, the argument still fresh on her mind.
"Sinon?" She looked up, slightly startled. Leafa was looking at her with concern.
"Yeah? What's up?" The girl seemed to hesitate, but found her resolve easily.
"Are you alright? You look really mad." Sinon wasn't surprised Leafa noticed her mood, as obvious as it was. But that didn't mean she wanted to spill everything that happened then.
"Yeah I'm fine, just a little argument, nothing to worry about." There; short, simple, and no room for interpretation. No way she could figure ou-
"It was with Kazuto, wasn't it?" Well there went that plan. Leafa seemed to have a considering look on her face. "You...care about him, don't you? More than a friend I mean."
"W-what?! N-no of course not! He's engaged, I would never." Leafa gave Sinon a deadpan look, her relation to Kirito shining through for a moment. "Okay, okay. I don't know. I can't tell what I think about him. How did you know though?" Leafa paused between sips of tea
"Simple, you're a girl and friends with him." Sinon raised her hand in protest, but stopped and considered it a moment later.
"Okay, fair. What is with that by the way? He's a great guy but geez." Leafa gave a small chuckle at that, setting her drink down.
"Kazuto is certainly living every man's dream, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me."
"Awww wanting more time with your big brother?" Leafa went red at the words.
"S-sure, something like that." She shook her head, before speaking again. "Now, what's going on with you and him." Sinon gave some hesitation before speaking, wondering if she really should be sharing it. After a moment's thought she told her the full story, from all the way back to BoB to the argument. She told her about the near kiss in the bunker, and how she just wanted more. After she finished, Leafa took a moment to think. After a few minutes she finally spoke.
"So you're upset because you wanted to kiss him?" Sinon nodded "You're an idiot."
"W-what?!" Leafa held up a hand.
"You're upset that after what happened you wanted more. Really? I mean damn, if you describe it in any more detail I'd get hot and bothered." Sinon blushed at that, speaking a moment later.
"W-well, it wasn't just then. I think about him all the time, I wanted to sleep in the same bed as him. I think I'm falling for him!"
"So what are you going to do about it?" The question startled her, as she really didn't know the answer. It was clear from her expression, and Leafa sighed. "Look, if you want my advice you should talk to him about it. Tell him what you've been feeling and maybe he can help you come to terms with it."
"But what if he hates me because of it?! Or becomes awkward around me?" Leafa looked at her with a considering expression, like she was looking for a way to word what she wanted to say.
"Liz told him, back in SAO. And she's not the only one. If he doesn't get awkward around his own adopted sister after she confessed to him then you should be fine." The meanings behind her words didn't click in Sinons head till a moment later, and she looked at Leafa with a shocked expression.
"You...wait, adopted. What?!" Leafa giggled at Simon's expression, as well as her confused rambling.
"Yeah, me and Kazuto are actually cousins, his parents died when he was younger. He knew before I did, and alienated himself because of it. When he came back from SAO I was so happy, and then he started interacting with me again. Mom told me the truth, and I started falling for him. After a... misunderstanding... I ended up yelling my feelings at him. He accepted me anyway, and never treated me any different. If he does that for me, then he will for you as well." Sinon was silent for a while, a lot of information running through her head.
"I'm sorry, I just had no idea." Leafa gave a smirk
"Well it wouldn't be much of a secret if I wasn't good at hiding it." She stood up suddenly, pulling up the menu. "Well anyway, I need to log off to make dinner. Kazuto is gonna be back soon, and apparently he's bringing a drunk Klein with him. But hey, think about what I said okay?" Sinon gave her a nod, and Leafa logged off with a flash of light.
Either way, Sinon certainly had a lot to think about tonight.
The two wooden blades met, a loud crack sounding through the dojo. Kazuto jumped back before thrusting again, his attack met with a parry. The opponent attempted to slide up his blade to strike, but Kazuto pushed the bamboo up and over before launching said attack himself. He was rewarded with a dull crack as the opponent's mask made contact with the blade. They promptly fell on their ass and groaned, causing Kazuto to roll his eyes. He walked to the downed foe and held his hand out.
"Jeez man, you hit like a truck." Klein grabbed his hand and grunted as he was dragged up. "I think that made my hangover worse, ugh" Kazuto gave him an unimpressed look.
"Well you shouldn't have overdone it last night then. Not to mention suggesting a spar with a hangover is a little dumb." Klein started to take the various armour bits off, stopping after the mask and gloves to look back at Kazuto.
"Well I wanted to see how good I was after all the combat we do. Not to mention the conditioning from Ordinal Scale." He lifted up the Shinai with one hand, testing its weight. "Say, how many of these do you have anyway?"
"Eh, about seven or so. We had eight, but I kinda used that one on Death Gun." Klein went over to the equipment room and started digging around, speaking while doing so.
"So, have you thought about what I said last night? About Sinon?" The question caused Kazuto some pause. He had thought about it, for most of the night actually. He realized that Klein was right. Klein cleared his throat and Kazuto realized he was waiting for an answer.
"Yeah, but I haven't decided what to do yet." Klein nodded and came back into the Dojo.
"If I may toss some more advice your way young grasshopper, have you considered talking to Asuna about it."
"But won't she be mad, or freak out or something?" Klein gave him a deadpan look
"Please, have more faith in her then that. Relationships are built on communication. So communicate. Now," He tossed something at Kazuto, who caught it. It was a second Shinai. "Lets see how good you really are!"
The crack of wood echoed through the room as he desperately blocked Kleins overhead strike with crossed blades. Both of them had removed their sparring helmet and gloves, so Kazuto's head was far from protected. He pushed up, throwing Kleins Shinai. Kazuto's off hand sword swept towards Kleins midsection. Klein barely managed to parry the strike, Shinai locking against Kazuto's to turn it aside. Kazuto's second sword came in from the opposite side, making Klein jump back.
Kazuto ran forwards, slinging his right sword towards Klein. It was blocked,and both fighters jumped back and forwards. Both of Kazuto's blades came up to block a diagonal cut, locking against the Shinai parallel to each other.
Kazuto jumped back again, before raising his right sword in a return diagonal slash. Klein blocked it, as well as the following thrust from the left blade.
A flurry of cuts and stabs followed, Klein barely blocking each. He hopped back, hoping to create space. Kazuto followed however, causing Klein to just avoid bamboo to the face. He finally managed to back up, Kazuto simply falling into his dual wielding stance in answer. Klein shifted into a middle stance, leveling his blade before him. Kazuto raised his right sword so that it was parallel to his face, and shifted his body towards it. His second sword came up to cross with the first, creating a sideways X shape.
Kazuto launched forwards, thrusting the blade towards Kleins torso. The mock samurai parried the Vorpal Strike, but missed the second blade coming in from the side. He hit the ground a second time, groaning in pain
Klein had left soon after that, thanking Suguha and her mother for their hospitality. He of course was welcomed back anytime, preferably sober this time. Kazuto received a message from Kikuoka right after, asking to meet at the usual place. Kazuto took his bike and arrived at the cafe early for once. Kikuoka haven't arrived yet so he sat in waiting. Kikuoka ended up walking in five minutes later and the two exchanged the usual greetings.
"So why did you call me here Kikuoka. I don't see Shino so it can't be about Death Gun." Kikuoka raised an eyebrow, one hand still in the motion of pulling his own chair back. He sat down and arranged his silverware before answering.
"Why hello Kirito, nice to see you too." Kazuto gave him a suffering look, one that made Kikuoka chuckle. "Alright, fine. Can we at least get food first. I'm paying anyway so you might as well take advantage as usual." Kazuto 'generously' obliged, ordering a mass of food that was hardly pronounceable to him. Once the food was there and they had eaten, Kazuto looked at Kikuoka with an expectant look.
"Alright, Alright! I'll tell you. You were half right. It's not about Death Gun, however it is about your actions and help in bringing him down. Specifically the real world parts, although your 'detective' skills in GGO also help." Kazuto was confused, but before he could question it, Kikuoka handed him an envelope.
"Whats this?" He ripped it open as he spoke, half expecting another case file like Death Guns. Instead he found himself looking at a check, with another-smaller- envelope.
"It's your pay from GGO as well as some extra for helping bring in Kanamoto. It's not much, and it certainly won't bring you up a tax bracket, but it's all we could offer." The check was for 450,000 Yen, which was 150,000 more than Kikuoka had promised. He gulped, and slowly and gently placed the check down. The second envelope wasn't sealed, and when he opened it a small form fell out. His eyes widened when he saw it.
"Kikuoka, what..."
"For your service, the JSDF wants to formally invite you to enlist. Due to your accomplishment you would be immediately promoted to Master Sergeant and work directly with myself." Kazuto didn't know how to react, after all he never would have predicted the SDF wanting to recruit him.
"Let me get this straight. You want me to join the SDF?" Kikuoka simply nodded, and took a sip of his drink. "But why? And why offer to place me so high up?"
"Because you're one of the most promising prospects I've ever seen. Your smart, can program and hack, already have combat experience, and have the fastest reaction time I've ever seen. Hell I've seen you cut a bullet in half! Granted it was system assisted but still." Kazuto was still shocked.
"Well, as much as I appreciate it, I already know what I want to do..." Kikuoka gave a wave of the hand.
"Yes I know. But keep in mind I'm in the VR department, so you'll already be working towards that. Not to mention I'm not asking you to dedicate your life to the SDF. Just to enlist for a few years." Kazuto processed the points Kikuoka had made, and had to admit they were good ones.
"I'm still not sure.." Kikuoka stopped him before he could finish.
"No worries! You have plenty of time to decide. No rush. I can call at the end of the month to see what you decide." Kazuto nodded his thanks. The conversation progressed normally from there, with Kikuoka asking as to Shinos wellbeing and Kazuto asking for Argo. When the time came to leave the two exited together, and said their farewells. As Kazuto was about to head home his phone lit up with a call.
Sinon
He picked it up and answered the call with a click.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Shino. Do you mind coming by Dicey's real quick" The request somewhat confused him but it wasn't the first time she had asked to meet up.
"Sure, I'm in Chiyoda Ward right now so it's only about three kilometers to Ueno."
"Okay, thanks." The call ended with a click and Kazuto put his helmet on.
Shino was nervous, and rightfully so she felt. After hearing Leafa's advice she had been terrified to take it, but she felt it was the best course of action. Especially after the story she had been told. However just cause it was the right course of action didn't mean she didn't start sweating profusely when the door opened and Kazuto came in. The moment she saw him her heart started pounding. He called out some greetings to Agil and pulled the chair in front of her out, setting himself down into it.
"Hey there Sinon'' Oh God, just that simple statement made her anxiety skyrocket. Maybe telling her engaged crush she liked him wasn't the best idea. Before she could stop herself she spoke.
"Hey, thanks for coming out to meet me." He simply waved his hand in the air.
"Eh no trouble. I was meeting with Kikuoka anyway so I was in the area." A meeting with Kikuoka? I wasn't asked to come so it most likely wasn't about Death Gun.
"What were you meeting him for?" He shrugged, looking disinterested in the topic.
"It wasn't anything important. Speaking of which, why did you ask to meet? Is something wrong?" She had to suppress a giggle at how fast he went from calm and aloof to worried. That action alone showed his true colours.
"No no, nothings wrong. Just something I want to talk to you about. Or rather, something I want to tell you…
Agil dropped two drinks off with a clink of glass. Nodding to his friends, he made his way to the back of the cafe at Shinos request. Kazuto took a sip on his as he waited for Shino to start talking. She was looking at the table with her hands clasped under it, it was clear she was nervous. When it was obvious that she wasn't gonna initiate the conversation Kazuto decided to start it himself.
"So... what did you want to tell me?" She flinched at the sound of his voice, and slowly reached for her own drink. Kazuto noted hers was alcoholic.
"Sorry, it's just a little hard to say." A small worm of hope wiggled its way into Kazutos mind, before he mercilessly crushed it. There was no way she thought of him like that, plus he hadn't figured out what to do himself. However with that gone, some worry took its place.
"You know you can tell me anything, but if your uncomfortable you don't need to..." Shino was fidgeting in her seat, eyes flashing up to meet his before glancing back down.
"It's not that I'm uncomfortable, just nervous." She stood up to place her now empty glass on the bar, Kazuto standing as well out of sheer awkwardness.
"You know maybe it would be better to just say what you want without thinking about it. Then you won't hesitate." The suggestion was a pure one, advice that many people had used. However he didn't expect her reply, or rather the action following it.
"Maybe, I should just show you." The words were muttered, and he didn't even have time to process them before she had marched up to him and met his gaze with her own.
Her lips met him a moment later.
Kirito was standing on the tower of Swilvane, observing the surrounding lands. The air in ALO was crisp, the height adding an artic tinge to it. He was still amazed at how much VR could recreate. From the smell of food, to the feeling of cold air on skin. His thoughts were interrupted as the lift behind him opened, the sound of heels on stone following. He didn't look, but he could hear the person come to a stop a few feet to his right.
"Ah, cold air. Clears the mind, doesn't it?" The voice was female, but not one of Kirito's friends. To mature, and it only took a moment to place it.
"That it does. Is that what you came up here to find, Lady Sakuya? A calm mind?" He turned to face her, and the graceful woman gave a small chuckle at his words.
"That I did, Sir Kirito. During these hours the tower is usually empty, and the view is stunning." She took a deep breath, and gazed out towards the horizon. Kirito followed suit, taking in the subtle orange glow of the coming sunset. As time went on the sunset grew even more beautiful, and Lady Sakuya gave a satisfied sigh at the sight. "I wish to gaze upon a sunset as beautiful as this in the real world one day." She turned slowly towards him, inclining her head in his direction. "I know the look on your face. While I may not be much older than you in reality, I've seen and met many in my time who shared that same look. You have a choice before you, do you not?" Kirito nodded his confirmation, and the woman hummed in response, an obvious invitation to speak.
"It's not just a choice, and no matter what I choose, someone will get hurt." Sakuya didn't respond for a moment, the silence dragging between them.
"I'm assuming this has to do with Lady Asuna and one of your other... compatriotes?" Kirito nodded. He was well aware of the reputation he had garnered by traveling with a party of mostly women (sorry Klein). The connection of that and his current problem was most likely an obvious one.
"Its...it's about Sinon. The archer." He added at Sakuya's confused look. "I think I'm falling for her, and I know she feels the same." He could still taste the kiss, as quick as it had been. Sakuya raised one eyebrow at him, the next statement somewhat obvious even to him.
"And you didn't expect her to? Forgive me Kirito but that seems to be the norm among your party." He winced but conceded to her point. Although after the GGO incident some of the girls he met also went after Asuna... nope not worth the headache. "And because of your relationship with Lady Asuna, you're worried about which girl your decision will hurt." It wasn't a question, more a statement of fact, but he found himself nodding anyway. No matter what happened he would be hurting someone he loved. Unless the girls decided to share of course but that was unlikely to happen.
"I guess you wouldn't know about this. Me and Asuna are engaged in the real world." He caught the sharp intake of breath, the slight air of surprise before Sakuya's calm demeanor came back into place. He thought she would do well in real politics.
"I...see. That certainly complicates your situation. I must ask, are you-" He cut her off with a hand wave.
"Yes I'm as young as I look, yes we got engaged at 17 and 18 respectfully, and yes I realize now that maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to do so before we are even adults." The noble lady blinked rapidly as she deciphered the list of answers. Finally she gave a somewhat confused look to him.
"Well at least you're aware?" Kirito gave a snort at that. "I'm afraid, Sir Kirito, that any advice I might give you would be but a guess. To put it frankly, your situation is more complicated then most modern romance plots."
"Trust me, I'm more than aware."
"If I may say however, a good idea would be to just... talk about it." He blinked stupidly at her, the simpleness of her advice honestly astonishing him.
"Talk about it?" Sakuya nodded
"Just sit down with Asuna and Lady Sinon and talk about it. How you feel and all." He conceded the point but still...
"Wouldn't they still get hurt though?" Sakuya gave him what had to be the most pitying and deadpan look he had ever seen.
"Oh and it would be better to just leave one for the other without a word? I don't mean to be crass, Sir Kirito. But if you leave this problem to fester, they may well both end up hurt" Kirito winced, she had a point. Sakuya gave a soft sigh. "Just think on it a little. I should return to my duties. Enjoy the view, brave swordsman." She walked back to the elevator, and as she left a soft muttering could be heard unter Kirito's breath.
"Guess everyones giving me advice today..."
The sword came down. Kirito stared at it, his fate all but certain. He was so focused on the blade he failed to notice the figure moving in front. The sword tore through the girls clothing like paper, cutting deep. Kirito stared in shock as instead of a grid like wound, blood came pouring forth.
He reached out, but the girl he caught wasn't that of chestnut hair and tall build. But hair of cyan, cut short. The girl was shorter as well, and Kirito realized with a pained gasp that it wasn't Asuna he held.
It was Sinon
"Its..." the blood bubbling from her mouth threatened to choke her, but the words sounded clear as day to him. "It's your fault."
Kazuto shot out of bed a moment later. He was breathing erratically, the nightmare fresh on his mind.
The dream changed? It had never happened before, it was always Asuna. But for some reason... No not 'some reason'. I really am falling for her.
Realizing sleep was probably lost, he grabbed the Amusphere and put it on.
"Link... start."
A swarm of colour met him