AN: A short fluffy kirsuna one shot. It just happened randomly in my dream one day. Hope you enjoy it.
Jealousy
Asuna doesn't like to think of herself as a jealous person.
But ever since the end of their elf war quest, that inescapable and unexplainable emotions had been eating away at her. The cause: a certain girl with long golden locks braided beautifully behind her slender back, her eyes shone as blue as the open sea under the setting sun.
"Kirito-Kun," Asuna spoke up to her first and ever partner since the beginning of this death game.
After spending all her time partnering up with a certain black hair boy exclusively, going even beyond the tenth floor, this new mysterious girl who's been capturing all of Kirito's attention seemed almost like a betrayal of her trust in him.
"Asuna?" Of course, Kirito was in the middle of a bite on his cheesecake for breakfast. There was a bit of cheese stuck on the side of his mouth.
Asuna sighed, "We should get going before-"
Another person appeared almost out of nowhere and settled down on the table right beside Kirito. The same girl that had Asuna pulling her hair out for the better part of the last few days.
"Oh? You two are not going to leave me behind, are you?"
"Alice?!" Kirito almost yelped when she pressed herself against him and snuggle close.
That gesture alone made Asuna's chestnut brown hair rise and she was steaming red in a not-so-friendly manner. Her brown eyes glaring back into Alice's blue ones without hiding behind any subtly.
"Ahem!" Asuna cleared her throat loudly, "Kirito-Kun? I thought we were going to see about that quest you've been talking nonstop about?"
As always, Kirito was as clueless as she first met him, "Huh? What quest- Oh! Oh right, the quest Argo had been bugging me about."
Finally! Asuna gloated smugly.
For whatever reason, Alice was an AI that's been granted superb intelligence. She sounded and act almost human, and she didn't even have the same response as other AI because she was somehow self-aware. She knew she was artificially created by the cardinal system which was impressive and terrifying at the same time. Oh! She had been calling herself a fluctlights too, whatever that means.
However, the same rules that bounded other AIs in Aincrad didn't apply to her, meaning that she was pretty much just like another player trap in this steel castle. Outfitted with a blue hoodie like the red one Asuna had on, Alice had the same chest plate along with a golden sword with flower petals ornaments strapped to her hips, suggesting that it's a very high-level weapon.
"Oooh, sounds fun! Can I come along?" Alice asked with gleaming eyes at Kirito.
She could probably destroy the enemies with just one single strike… Asuna almost wanted to bring Alice along because of her overpowered skills, but the whole point about this quest was to get away from Alice who's been clinging onto her partner since the tenth floor, so Asuna resisted all temptation. Plus, they could handle it themselves with no problem.
"Uhh…" Kirito hesitated, no doubt because Asuna was staring at him with a boiling gaze.
Asuna didn't know why, but Alice seemed to have really taken a liking to Kirito when they accidentally met up on a quest to kill the spider queen. Asuna could barely remember how many times Alice saved both their butts that day, and ever since, Kirito had been insisting that they stick around with Alice, as least for the time being.
That's how Alice ended up in the same party with them for the last few days. Asuna convinced herself that it was only for a short period before Alice would find another group to party with, but as time went on, Kirito eventually took more and more of their time to explain the rules of Aincrad to Alice, going so far as to teach her how to activate sword skills, upgrading weapons and armor, everything that he taught her too.
Asuna's jealousy was overflowing from the inside, and seeing as Alice didn't have a problem with it either just infuriated her even more so.
"Maybe we could all go together. We'd probably finish the quest a lot quicker that way, right?" Kirito made a decision, the wrong decision, "Hahaha…"
Fuming in anger, Asuna stomped off from the table and exit the inn without saying another word.
Stupid Kirito! Why doesn't he understand-
For the next part of their day, they finally reached the hunting ground where they had to collect a certain amount of wax from the killer bees to procure a potion, allowing them to start the real quest.
"Syyaaa!"
"Huhhaa!"
Going on a killing spree, Asuna couldn't help but take out her anger with Kirito on as many of these killer bees as possible. By the time she's gotten ten bee wax from an attack group, Kirito and Alice finally caught up to her and waved over the horizon.
"Asuna!" Kirito shouted across the field and rushed to her.
"What's gotten into you? Why did you run off like that? You know, I didn't even get to finish my cheesecake because I was so worried."
Asuna huffed and sheathed her rapier once the area had been clear out, "Stupid Kirito!"
Just like that, Asuna left her partner dumbfounded and went up the hill that overlooked the spawning valley below. Alice was on top of that hill, but Asuna ignored her and sat down on the grass.
It felt soft and comforting, enough to ease her mind off the black hair boy for just a moment while she looked further into the 'skies' above her.
"Asuna?" Alice called out her name, "Are you jealous of me?"
The girl with golden blonde hair took a seat beside her, and Asuna automatically scooched away. It's just her luck that the girl who wasn't even real was making her jealous, and now she was consoling her for having these stupid thoughts.
"I might be an artificial fluctlight created by the cardinal system, but even without it, I can tell how jealous you were because of Kirito."
Asuna kept her mouth shut and pinched the grass leaves in her fingers. When she broke a piece off, it disappeared into blue polygons and flew along with the wind.
It just so happened that the wind was blowing from behind her, and as her gaze followed the blue shimmering polygons breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces, she caught the black hair boy who was clearing another group of killer bees that spawned.
Watching him easily defeating enemy after enemies just like how he had taught her back on the second floor, where they had that competition with the same killer bees, Asuna lost herself for a moment.
Very quickly, she blushed out of nowhere and grew heated.
"Well, don't worry, Asuna. I can assure you that my relationship with Kirito is purely platonic. I just enjoy spending time with both you and him. Besides, I am not even real. My existence is confined only in Aincrad." Alice smiled at Asuna and looked down the valley too.
"I think Kirito has those same feelings you do too, Asuna. Give him some time and I am sure everything will work out."
Asuna didn't like that she was getting advice from Alice, but for some reason, her advice did ease her worries about a lot of things.
"Thanks, Alice…" Asuna whispered, "I guess you are not as bad as I thought…"
Alice got off from the grass and dust off her white skirt, "Well, I guess I'll go help Kirito, and I hope we can be friends in the future…"
Asuna smiled, "No promises…"
During the night, Asuna and Kirito rented the same room again, and just like a few times in the past where they shared a room together, Asuna insisted that Kirito could sleep on the same bed with her. Of course, the middle line was still a clear rule that both of them knew was important and should be respected. But just tonight, Asuna wished she could dismiss the line and cross over to the other side.
"Kirito?" Asuna whispered.
Kirito shifted from behind her, "Yeah?"
"Do you think we are going to beat this game?"
It was the same question she had asked him more than a dozen times, but Kirito knew as well as she did that it was a way to reassure both of them that it was possible, that beating this death game was more than a possibility, and they were going to get out back into the real world, no matter what.
"We are going to beat it together. Agil's group, the Dragon Knights Brigade, Aincrad Liberation Squad, everyone is going to do their best to clear this game."
"Mmm," Asuna mumbled.
"Asuna…" Kirito called her name this time, "A-Are you- um… not okay with Alice?"
Asuna felt her cheeks heat up. Despite the red face, she turned around to face Kirito who did the same thing on his side.
"I've- I didn't like her at first… but I think I can get along with her in the future now."
Kirito studied her and raised his eyebrows after, "Wait, are you jealous?"
Just that one little comment from Kirito alone made her face grew steaming red and there was nowhere to hide. Not wanting him to see her in such a state, Asuna did the only thing possible and hug herself into Kirito's shirt, burying herself deep in them.
Kirito's eyes bulged when Asuna hugged into his chest and cross the same line that she had established whenever they shared the same bed. With a small hint of amusement, Kirito whispered, "You are jealous…"
Asuna hit his chest rather hard, "I am not, idiot."
Kirito held in a breath as he watched her chestnut brown hair shine underneath the soft silver moonlight. It eased his mind in the simplest way.
"Just promise me something…"
Asuna's voice muffled a bit into his shirt, but Kirito heard every word.
"Promise me that whatever happens, you are going to be my partner until the very end, okay?"
Asuna finally looked up and stared into the black hair boy's eyes.
Searching for his answer, Asuna was relieved when she found what's she's been looking for.
"I promise, Asuna. We'll beat this death game together."
Asuna nodded her head back into his chest and relaxed, "Mmm. Good night, Kirito-Kun."
Kirito whispered back, "Good night, Asuna."