It's summertime, which means its festival season. Although these two chapters aren't set during the summer, I guess... Whatever.Double upload, one with Kirito and Asuna, one with Jaymes and Liz, both taking place during a festival in Lost Song. As stated in the last chapter, this would take place during my series of SAO stories, sometime within 'Courage and Realization,' most likely after the Hollow Realization storyline but before the beginning of "Ordinal Dissonance', just for when you see references to prior stories rather than the video games.Enjoy!

"So, my friends, you've heard about the festival that's gonna happen here in Alfheim tonight, right?" Klein leans on the table while smirking at Kirito and Jaymes. "If you haven't, there's me doing my due diligence as your friend."

Kirito sighs and glares at Klein. "Sounds cool and all, but why are you saying it as if we should've known about it? Everyone does."

"Kirito, my man. You are right, everyone has known about it, it's a limited-time event and all. I'm sure you're gonna check it out and all, but… Okay, Jaymes, you're not as dense as him. I know you've noticed."

"Noticed what?"

Klein sighs. "Both of you? Geez… Has anything strange and unusual in your personal lives been occurring?"

Kirito cups his chin. "Personal lives… Well, it really hasn't bothered me, but I've noticed that Asuna has given me slightly smaller portions of food for lunch at school."

"Now that you mention it, Liz has been more flippant with me than usual the last few days. I thought it was just that time of the month...or day if you catch my drift."

"They were talking about the festival when it was revealed last week, but…" Kirito's eyes suddenly widen and turn to Jaymes, who must've come to the same realization as his teeth clench against each other. "Oh no."

"We still have time to correct this, right?"

Klein sighs. "How you two keep your girls is beyond me. Go! Ask them out… In-person, Kirito!!"

Kirito

"Asuna!" Kirito nearly trips into their home on the 22nd Floor of New Aincrad, catching himself with the doorframe. Inside, Asuna sits on one of the couches, looking at her boyfriend curiously as he enters the house and stomps over to her.

"Kirito?"

"Ahem… Would you like to go to the festival with me, Asuna?"

"...Took you a while to figure it out. At this rate, I was going to have to ask you myself."

Kirito chuckles while rubbing his head. "Ah, well, you know...sorry. A lot has happened recently, with school, Origin, and stuff."

Asuna stands up and smiles. "It's okay. I know it's been hectic, so let's enjoy this. Okay, I'm gonna go get ready. Wait here." Asuna heads for the back of the cabin towards the bedroom, so Kirito takes a seat in his favorite chair. Successful, he types a quick message to Jaymes to inquire about him and Liz, receiving an affirmative reply just when he hears Asuna return. "All done!"

"Whoa…" In place of her usual Undine battle dress, Asuna wears a black and white yukata, with pink flowers on the white sides and light blue lines on the black and a red cloth around her waist to hold the yukata closed. For the second time today, Kirito's eyes are enlarged, this time at the beauty of Asuna. "Where did you get that outfit?"

"Oh. this yukata? It's a limited-time item. You can only buy it during the festival... What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Realizing he's still staring, Kirito shakes his head as he stands up. "Oh, no, not at all. Quite the opposite. You look great. You just look so different than usual it surprised me. Really mature and grown-up."

Asuna blushes and twiddles with her hair. "You think so? Thank you. I'm really glad you like it. I was hoping you would like it when I chose it. Now come on! Let's go!"

"Sounds good."

The festival takes place in the floating city of Ryne, a relatively new location compared to most of the land of Alfheim. It floats in neutral territory and has become a bustling hub for players making the trip between the land of the fairies and the floating castle. But with the festival here in Ryne, to Kirito, the town seems more populated. "There sure are a ton of people here."

"If we get split up, it's gonna be a lot of work finding each other."

"I think you're right. Maybe we should hold hands then." Kirito offers his hand, which Asuna graciously accepts. With that out of the way, the pair begin to walk and inspect the festival. "Wow, look at all the different stands!"

Kirito spots a food stand that interests him. "Hey, can I buy one of those?"

Asuna turns towards Kirito's target and looks worried. "Sure… As long as you're comfortable buying mystery food on a stick. You're big on exploring the new and unknown, aren't you?"

"Am I?" Kirito hands the shopkeeper the required amount of yuld and takes the few sticks with hidden food on them. Looking at them with anticipation, Kirito holds one up. "Well, here it goes!" He takes a big bite and chews on it for a moment before swallowing. "Hmm… Tastes like chicken. Not bad at all."

"What kind of meat is that anyway?"

"Frog monster. Want to try?"

"Ew, frog? No thank you!"

Kirito shrugs and they continue walking. "Suit yourself. It's really pretty good."

"Oh, never mind!" Asuna frowns and looks elsewhere. "Look, that stand over there looks really good!"

"Hey, it does. Fried noodles and snow cones! Feels like a real Japanese festival now."

Leading Kirito over to the stand, Asuna looks over the menu with an excited glimmer in her eyes. "Wow! I never thought I'd see stuff like this in a VR world. Ooh, let's try some octopus puffs!"

Having finished his frog meat, Kirito nods, his virtual stomach eager for more. "Those do sound good. Okay, I'll treat you. How much are they?"

"500 yuld apiece," the shopkeeper answers.

"Okay. One, please." Kirito makes the trade of money for a cup of octopus puffs.

"Thanks, Kirito!"

"Wow, this is impressive. They've even recreated the steam."

"Are they still hot?"

"Yeah, but you're supposed to eat them while they're hot. Here we go… Hot, hot, hot!"

Asuna giggles. "I thought so. That's what happens when you try to eat one in one bite. Why don't you wait for them to cool down?"

"Good idea."

"Gosh, I can't even remember the last time I went to a festival."

"Well, we were trapped in SAO for two years. Jaymes says there were two there, but I guess you didn't have a chance to go, all things considered as a vice-captain of the KoB."

"That's true. But I hadn't been to one for a long time even before that. In the real world, I never had many opportunities to go. All my 'friends' were pretty much academic rivals competing for the highest grades. Not to mention I had a curfew, so I could barely go out at night anyway. That's why I'm really glad I'm here attending this festival with you now."

"I see… Asuna, would you like to go to a festival in the real world together sometime, too? Maybe this summer, perhaps?"

"Do you really mean it?"

Kirito nods. "Absolutely. I hope you'll wear a yukata then too."

Asuna smiles. "Haha. Count on it."

"Right… Okay, these octopus puffs should be cool enough now."

"Wait a moment." Asuna softly blows on one and holds it up to Kirito's mouth. "Open wide."

"Huh?"

"Come on, open up."

"But there are people watching…"

"Don't you think I know that? Now come on before I get too embarrassed!"

"Right, s-sorry! Um… Ahh..." Asuna plops the puff in Kirito's mouth and waits for him to chew and swallow it.

"How is it?"

"Mmm, it's delicious! It was so hot earlier I couldn't really taste it, but it tastes just like the real thing!"

"Really? I'm gonna try one myself then."

Kirito picks one up. "Okay, I'll feed you one now."

"What? N-No, really, that's okay!"

"Hey, you can't go feeding me one and then just eat one yourself normally. It's not fair."

"Ulp… Okay."

"Here, open wide."

"Ahhh…" Asuna takes the puff from Kirito with her mouth and glows up as she savors the treat. "Mmm, that IS good! It really does taste just like real octopus puffs!"

"It's just too bad we can only have them during the festival."

"I know! Why don't I try making them myself sometime? I think I can recreate them with ALO ingredients."

"Really?"

Asuna gives him a wink and thumbs up. "Leave it to me!" Kirito smiles and continues leading Asuna further into the festival just as fireworks start to pop in the air. They stop and Kirito glances at Asuna while she gasps in happiness. He's happy that Asuna is enjoying herself at the festival and (selfishly more important) he got to see her. He's gonna owe Klein one...and he wonders how Jaymes and Lisbeth are doing.