Sword Art Online
After The Incident
Chapter 10 – A Peaceful Slumber
I was currently sitting by a bar table with Asuna, Liz, and Klein, playing with a game of cards with them. The party my friends were holding for me was already running out into late hours, but honestly, that didn´t really affect the mood, which couldn´t have been better. Everyone was laughing, chatting and overall having a good time no matter what they were doing.
For the first time in a very long time, I was feeling truly and fully relaxed. No stress, no fear, no exhaustion. Just simple and full pleasure and bliss. I looked around in the bar every now and then, wondering how I had deserved such wonderful friends.
Sasha and Yulier was currently standing by the bar with Agil, cleaning his glass as always. They were currently having a heated exchange about clothes. Or, it seemed more like Yulier and Sasha did the talking, Agil just listening and nodding every once in a while as he held his focus on his glass.
Over in the corner, Scilica was talking with Suguha about how she was planning to make a local technician help her make a mechanical Pina, one that would function just as well as the one from SAO, and would have the same memory as well. Suguha was eager to ask questions about the game, and maybe learn some tricks and tips from someone who had played a VR game two years straight.
I knew how much Scilica missed her pet dragon. She had made sure everyone in our group knew, with how much she was talking about her. Not once had I met her in the street or at a meet up, where she wouldn´t have somehow turned the conversation topic towards her beloved light blue feathery friend. I had first hand experienced how much she was willing to sacrifice for Pina, so I understood how much she missed her.
In the far end of the room, Thinker and Keinz was having an excited conversation about a new VR game just coming out to the Amusphere, called GGO. They were especially excited about the theme of the game, since it was heavily war and gun based. I chuckled a bit as I listened to their conversation. I figured they were the type of guys who would like stuff like that, but the game DID sound interesting.
"Yo Kirito! It´s your turn buddy!" Klein yapped, ripping me out of my thoughts.
"Oh sorry Klein!" I mumbled with a smile.
I put down another card and smiled a bit as I let the game progress, handing over the turn to Lizbeth.
"You seem a little amiss Kirito" She mumbled as she flipped a card. "Something wrong?"
"No no! Nothing of the sort!" I said with a defensive wave of my arms "It´s just, I was thinking about how lucky I am to have such an amazing family, and such amazing friends"
"Damn straight you are!" Klein yapped as he smirked boyishly "So you better damn treasure them, you hear me!?"
"Yes Klein. The whole bar hears you" I said with a chuckle.
I looked over at Asuna with a smile, and she smiled back, before flipping over a good combination of vards, sending me out of the game for good.
"Oh come on!" I mumbed regretfully as I threw my cards onto the table "You always get me somehow!"
"Shush child!" Asuna said with a giggle as she pressed a finger onto my lips "Just watch and learn ok?"
I pouted a bit and crossed my arms childishly, which gained a collective laugh from my three companions around the table. I couldn´t help it and laughed as well, enjoying the incredible moment.
After the game finished, and Asuna won again to my big regret and Asuna´s great pleasure, I stood up and clunked my glass a bit with I fork I had borrowed from the bar, to gather everyone´s attention.
"Ok people!" I yelled as the chatting from around the room began to die down "Settle down please!"
There didn´t go long before everyone quieted down, Klein being a bit slower than everyone else because of his cheerful and sometimes loud nature.
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath before I smiled and looked out at everyone, Asuna in particular.
"Dear friends and family" I said with a smile and everyone smiled back "Thanks for doing this for me. No words I know can express how happy I am to have this moment with you guys"
Everyone clapped a bit before settling down again, letting me continue.
"I honestly don´t know where I would be if I didn´t have you guys" I said with a smile "Those two years we all have been through was hard. But I have a feeling that if I hadn´t had a great family to return home to, or amazing friends who supported me through thick and thin, I don't think I would have lasted those two years."
I could hear a bit of sniffling in the background but decided to ignore it for the time being so I could finish my speech.
"Asuna, Klein, Agil, Scilica, Liz and Suguha" I said as I looked out at my most loyal friends, who all took a step forward "You guys deserve the most praise. If you guys hadn´t taken action like you did when you got me out of ALO, I don´t know what I would have done. Thank you so much"
Everyone clapped again to praise the people who had come to my aid when I needed the most, before settling down once again.
"Today, we are united once more" I said as I lifted my glass "May we be united many times in the future as well. To a bright future, and a forever-lasting friendship!"
Everyone cheered loudly and clinked their glasses, the happy atmosphere soon returning to the small bar. I smiled a bit and sat down beside Asuna, who immediately placed a soft kiss on the cheek.
"You saved all of us from SAO Kazuto" She whispered into my ear "I want you to know that"
"Thanks Asuna." I mumbled as I kissed her back, softly pressing my lips onto hers.
She smiled and immediately returned the kiss, cupping my face in her soft hands.
I smiled and hugged her close to me as we parted from each other, and she sighed happily as she laid her head on my shoulder, looking out at the buzzling of the party.
A couple of hours the crowd slowly but surely began putting on their overcoats, and buzzing out into the night. It was late, and everyone had had an incredible time together, me especially. I made sure to say bye to everyone as they left, hugging or shaking hands with every last one of my amazing friends. Soon the crowd had shrank into Asuna, Agil, Klein, Scilica, Liz and myself.
"Whew… What a party" I mumbled tiredly as I helped everyone clean up.
"Hell yeah." Klein yelled happily from his seat in the bar "We´ve got to do that again sometime!"
"You bet!" Liz yapped and thumbed up.
I chuckled a bit and nodded softly as I pushed my broom over the floor of the bar, removing whatever dust or dirt there might have remained.
"You guys can go home" Agil said with a confident smile and a nod "I can take care of the rest"
"You sure Agil?" I mumbled softly as I looked at him "You don't need our help?"
"I´m used to work like this by now" He said with a smirk "It is my bar after all"
"That sounds perfect then" I said with a smile as I grabbed my jacket off the coathanger by the entrance "Remind me to treat you to a drink next time were hanging out"
"You bet!" Agil chuckled happily.
Everyone then began to make their way towards the entrance, some having more exhausted expressions on their faces, Klein staying back at the bar.
"You guys go ahead!" He said with a smirk "Can´t let Agil have all the work am I right?"
"Cool! See you guys soon!" I said as I waved and smiled back at them over my shoulder.
I laced fingers with Asuna as her, Suguha and I left the bar together, Scilica and Lizbeth soon dispersing into the night in different directions. I smiled a bit as I looked over at Asuna, then at Suguha.
"You go ahead Suguha" I said with a smile "I have something to show Asuna!"
"Don´t do anything naughty you two" Suguha said with a wink.
She began running down the street with a giggle and I blushed a little, rolling my eyes at her.
"Keep your mind out of the gutter!" I yelled after her, resulting in a giggle from Asuna.
"Don´t be so hard on her Kazuto." She mumbled as she linked our arms "She is a teenager too you know"
"Yeah I know" I said with a chuckle "I experience her teenage problems first hand everyday back at home!"
"I´m sure" She responded with a giggle "Now what did you want to show me?"
"Come with me!" I said with a laugh as I began running, leading her towards the park we had held our recent date in.
After a few minutes we arrived at the park, gasping a bit for air as we slowed down to catch our breath.
"Kazuto I don´t understand" Asuna mumbled confused "What are we doing here?"
"Look over there" I said with a smile as I pointed towards a group of bushes not too far away.
Over those bushes flew a swarm of fireflies, creating a warm and mysterious glow to the surrounding area around them. Asuna´s eyes lit up almost as bright as the fireflies themselves as she saw the beautiful sight.
"Oh wow!" She squeeled happily as she stared at the lightshow presented to her "So wonderful!"
"It is isn't it?" I mumbled as I hugged her close by the waist "Before SAO I would come here at this moment to relax and watch the sky and the fireflies"
"How come you haven´t shown me this before?" Asuna asked as she spread out her hand and let a firefly land in the middle of it.
"I was waiting for the right moment" I said with a smile as I watched the fireflies quickly surround us as we approached them and their gentle light.
"Can I have this dance Asuna?" I asked softly as I reached out my hand towards her.
"H-Huh? But we don´t even have any music!" She squeeled surprised, blushing slightly from my sudden request.
"We don´t need any" I said with a chuckle "Let nature´s sound be our rhythm.
"U-Uhmm i´m not sure what you mean but, ok" She mumbled softly, shyly taking hold of my hand.
I smiled gently and nodded as I placed my other hand on her hip, holding her close to me as we began to dance.
Soon we were engulfed in a sea of light from the fireflies and the overhead moon and stars. This moment with the love of my life was truly beautiful and blissful. We didn´t even need music to keep the rhythm, letting our instincts lead us as we danced in and out between the bushes and trees. We let nature rule over our movements, the light from the fireflies leading every step we took.
We danced like it was our last moment on earth, never breaking the eye contact between us, not even able to do so if we had wanted to. I looked deep into the most beautiful set of eyes I had seen in my life, the same eyes staring back into mine and staring right into my soul, triggering all sorts of clashing emotions to occur deep within my body.
The light from the moon fell down between the leaves and branches of the trees around us, creating a wonderful and beautiful lightshow to accompany our dancing. Never had I experienced that kind of euphoria or bliss before, the entire scene feeling just like a wonderful, wonderful dream. A peaceful slumber I never wanted to wake up from.
Asuna´s warm and gentle presence only made this moment even more blissful. Her soft and petite hands perfectly fit in mine, like our hands had been created just for this perfect moment. We danced around in perfect harmony, not even minding the fact that there might have been people watching us from a distance. It almost felt like the world around us disappeared as I focused on what was important, which was Asuna.
I didn´t even need to focus on my feet or any movement I made. Our steps was perfectly synced, almost like we had prepared for this very moment in ages. This scene was almost like taken straight out of a fairy tale, the prince dancing with his princess in the castle´s beautiful ball room. As I looked into my princess´s eyes I saw only bliss and peace. And I was sure she could see the same things in her prince´s eyes as well.
After a moment, which thank god felt like several hours, we slowed down our dancing and came to a halt, my back leaning towards a tree, and Asuna´s body leaning as much into mine as much as humanly possible. I don´t believe we had ever been that close to each other before, neither do I believe I had ever been so lost in her beautiful eyes before in our relationship.
I was suddenly ripped out of my thoughts as I saw Asuna´s face break into a silent giggle.
"What are you staring at?" She said as she smiled at me happily.
"N-Nothing" I mumbled, blushing just a bit and averting my eyes away from her.
Asuna pouted a bit and flicked my nose.
"If you don´t stop lying…" She mumbled teasefully "I might have to stop kissing you!"
I widened my eyes a bit at this (for me..) devastating threat.
"No! Anything but that!" I yelled with a tint of desperation in my voice.
"Then tell me what you were staring at!" Asuna mumbled, as she puffed out her cheeks.
"U-Uhmm" I mumbled as I blushed and averted my eyes further "I-I was just uhmm lost in your eyes for a moment"
"Aww you´re just a cutie aren´t you?" She said sweetly as she quickly pecked my cheek.
"Don´t call the guy who killed Gleam Eyes alone a cutie" I mumbled, pouting a bit from embarrassment.
"Sorry Kazuto. But you´re fun to tease" Asuna responded with a giggle.
I chuckled a bit and my blush slowly faded as I looked down at Asuna´s pretty face again.
"It´s been such a wonderful time today" She mumbled as she let me wrap my arms around her.
"yeah it has" I mumbled as I felt Asuna´s body warmth mix itself with my own, warming me up even more than before.
"Especially that moment we shared just now" She whispered as she brought her face close to mine.
"Yeah" I mumbled, not being able to say anything else as I was lost in her facial features.
"I love you Kazuto" She mumbled as she brought her face even closer than before, a small but happy smile on her lips.
"I love you too Asuna." I mumbled back, leaning in and closing the small space between us with a kiss.
I heard a soft moan from my partner in love and smiled as I continued to deepen the kiss, hungrily and desperately yearning for more with my body language.
She understood me perfectly, deepening the kiss just as much as I did with her. When we parted we were both out of breath, panting slightly as we looked at each other with slight smiles.
"Thank you, Asuna" I mumbled as I stared into her eyes.
She tilted her head in confusion and smiled.
"Huh? For what?" She mumbled as she looked at me wonderingly.
"For being there for me" I said with a gentle smile "For always being there"
She nodded a bit and blushed slight pink as she leaned in again.
"Always Kazuto… Always"
Those were the final words I heard from her before we shared another lustful and deep kiss with one another underneath the lush green leaves of the tree behind me, and the dark blue sky and crescent moon of the night.
…..
We had finally arrived at Asuna´s place after a couple of minutes of walking. I was sad to know this dream like evening was coming to a close, but all good things has an end. When we reached her house I turned towards her with a gentle, but tired smile, as the evening had drawn to midnight hours ago.
"I´ll call you first thing tomorrow, ok?" I mumbled softly as I looked at her.
She nodded a bit and smiled, a smile I would never get tired of seeing.
"That sounds good Kazuto" She said as her smile slowly dropped into a concerned expression "Please be careful on the way home, ok?"
"Don´t worry" I said as I took a step towards her with a smile "I know my Lightning Flash will save me if anything should happen"
"Of course" She mumbled as she took a step towards me "And I know you´ll do the same for me"
"Always" I mumbled as I softly kissed her lips for the final time that night.
"Sleep well princess" I Said with a smile as I watched her walk up the steps towards her porch.
"Goodnight, prince" She whispered back as she looked over her shoulder, blew me a kiss, and giggled before walking inside.
"Hehe" I mumbled softly, blushing a bit as I turned to walk the rest of the way home.
"I´m such a lucky bastard aren´t I?" I mumbled softly. "I have a feeling I´ll be able to get some actual sleep tonight"
And with that I proceeded to wander home, preparing for the scolding I would surely receive for arriving home at such a time in the night.
A/N
Hey guys! :D
Did you like this chapter? Cause I loved it X3
I do believe that this was one of my finest chapters yet. What do you guys think?
Hope you enjoyed, please do look forward to the next chapter, ok? : )
See you guys next week! Keep reading!