Sword Art Online
After The Incident
Chapter 11 – A New, Romantic Adventure
~Kazuto´s POV, the next morning~
I growled a little and blinked my eyes open softly as I woke up in my bed the morning after the party at Agil´s café.
"Well I'd be damned…" I mumbled with a soft and victorious smile "Two days without nightmares"
I chuckled a bit as my memory flowed back to the magical night I had had with Asuna and the others the night before. It had been truly blissful to say the least. The best celebration party for me, put together by my beautiful girlfriend and wonderful family.
"They deserve so much more than I can give them" I mumbled with a soft sigh "I need to pay everyone back some time"
I smiled a bit as I sighed and looked out the window, out into the open world outside. I took a step near the window and chuckled a bit as I looked down into our garden and saw Sugu, fully geared up and training her kendo as usual.
"Bright and early as always huh?" I mumbled with a chuckle and a soft smile.
I sighed a bit and rubbed my lazy eyes as I walked over to the computer. I booted it up and smiled a bit as I opened a folder, to boot up a particular computer program that I held extra dear from any other program. I smiled a bit as it only took a few moments to load, and soon enough, Yui´s adorable face popped up on the screen.
"Good morning daddy!" She squeeled happily.
She threw herself at my screen and pressed her soft cheek onto it, making it look like she was pressing herself up against the other side of a pane of glass.
"Good morning Yui" I said with a smile as I waved at her "How are you doing today?"
"Pretty good actually" She said with an enthusiastic grin.
"Oh yeah?" I said with a smile "How is ALO treating you? You keeping up your training?"
"Daddy you don´t have to worry" She said cockily "I´m training my butt off here!"
"That´s great to hear" I said with a fatherly smile as I thumbed out "Keep training and you might be able to beat me one day"
"Ha! That day might come sooner than you think" She said proudly "Though I must say I like just relaxing on the private server you made for you and mom, and me"
"It´s good to know it´s working well" I said with a nod "How high level are you?"
"I´m pretty high up actually" She mumbled as she flicked her wrist and made her menu appear.
"Take a look" She said with a smile as she flipped it towards me with a gesture, for me to see it more clearly.
"Wow! Way to go honey!" I said with a proud smile as I saw the results.
She had leveled up several times since I last checked on her, and she had even learned a few new sword skills. Her stats was much higher, and her equipment way better than the starter clothes she had received when I transferred her into a player.
"You see?" She said cheerfully "I told you I was training hard!"
"Yeah you´re right!" I said with a chuckle "I thought maybe you had needed my help to explain the basics, but I see that that is not necessary"
"Right? It´s awesome in here" She squeeled happily as she sprinted around on the screen happily.
"So how are the inn NPC´s in ALO treating you?" I asked curiously.
"The tavern lady is very nice" Yui said with a grin "She sometimes let me stay for the night for free!"
"Wow! Even though that might be against her coding?!" I mumbled, surprised.
"Yeah! She is very nice" Yui said with a smile and nod. "So have mama told you yet?"
I raised an eyebrow at the odd question and tilted my head in confusion.
"Huh? Told me what?" Apparently Asuna had told Yui something I didn´t know about.
"Oh! So she hasn´t told you?" Yui asked surprised "Then I won´t say any more!"
"Oh come on Yui!" I said with a pout "Now you made me all excited for nothing!"
"Sorry but a surprise is a surprise" She said as she crossed her arms, standing her ground.
"Aww.. wait, surprise!?" I mumbled as I looked at her with a smile.
She realized she had spoken a bit too much and covered her mouth with both hands as she looked at me with a surprised and desperate look.
"Oh shoot! I have already said too much" She said with a pout.
"Please tell me more!" I asked begging as I looked at her with the most adorable puppy eyes I could muster.
"Oh alright. Since you already know it´s a surprise…" She mumbled with a sigh.
"Yes! Please tell me!" I said excitedly, acting like a kid on Christmas eve.
"Well, aunt Suguha was on earlier," She told me with a smile "And she said something about mama having a surprise ready for you today!"
"Really?" I said excitedly as I stared at the screen happily.
"Yup. But you´re not getting more out of me daddy!" She said with a stern look and a pout.
I snapped my fingers and sighed a bit.
"Dang" I mumbled, to which Yui let out a small giggle.
"Daddy, you´re acting like you were my age" She said with a smile. "Or, what age I look like anyway"
"Yeah. Technically you´re only three," I mumbled with a smile "When you look like a ten year old"
"Exactly. You caught my point" She said with a giggle.
We then continued to talk just for a little bit, savoring the moment we had together. It had been a while since I had been able to talk to Yui like this, about everything and nothing, and I was happy I was finally able to see her again after that good while.
Asuna had already been sure to log on many times, almost every day, to check up on Yui and spend some alone time with her. Since I have been so busy lately, I had had a hard time getting any free space in my calendar, spending whatever free time with Yui or Asuna.
It was even more rare for all three of us to be together at once, since me and Asuna both had to be free for it to actually be possible. And with such a tight schedule such as mine had been for the past year, that was a hard thing to be.
After a good half an hour Yui smiled a bit and put her hands onto the screen with a smile.
"you should probably get breakfast now daddy" She said with a smile "You just woke up didn´t you?"
"huh? How did you know?" I mumbled, looking at her surprised.
"That´s easy." She said with a grin "I just guessed since you have such a funny bedhead!"
I looked at her in surprise and dashed over to my bedroom mirror. And sure enough, my hair stood out to all sides, looking like a crow´s nest.
"W-Why didn´t you tell me earlier!?" I almost shouted as I sprinted for the bathroom to get a brush.
I could clearly hear Yui´s voice from across the hallway and all the way into the bathroom. She was laughing loudly, teasing me.
"I wanted to see how long it took for you to realize!"
"Well I can´t say I don´t know who taught you to tease" I mumbled, knowing how much I used to tease Asuna when an opportunity occurred.
Yui giggled a bit and nodded enthusiastically as she looked at me with her big adorable eyes.
"Exactly. I learned from the best!" She said with a proud grin "Now go get some food in your tummy!"
"Thanks honey" I said as I kissed the screen "See you soon ok?"
"Bye daddy!" She yelled as I turned off the screen and sighed.
"She is always so cheerful" I mumbled with a smile "That´s something she has learned from her mother"
I sighed a bit and chuckled as I walked to the bathroom to get a quick bath. After getting thoroughly washed, brushing my teeth and running a brush through my hair, I checked in the mirror to see if everything was as it should be. When everything was checked I smiled and walked downstairs, to greet my cousin and aunt.
I smiled and yawned a bit as I walked into the kitchen, looking at them as they sat at the dinner table.
"Good morning you two" I mumbled sleepily.
"Good morning dear" My aunt said as she stood up and kissed my forehead.
"Good morning Onii-chan" Suguha said with a bright smile.
"Hey sugu! I take it your morning training is done?" I said with a smile.
"Yup. Though it´s not so hard when I don´t have a sparing partner" She said with a smile.
"Yeah" I said with a grin "But I don´t feel like having a headache today, so I'll pass"
"Hey! What´s that supposed to mean!?" She mumbled as she pouted.
"Just that whenever I spar with you, you end up hurting me somehow" I mumbled as I grabbed a piece of toast.
"H-Hey that´s not true!" Suguha said with an obvious blush on both her cheeks.
"well either way," I mumbled as I poured some milk in my glass "I have to meet Asuna, so even if I wanted to spar, I couldn´t"
"Aww what a letdown" I heard Suguha mumble as she looked downwards.
"Why don´t you just ask Recon?" I asked softly.
"he is about as strong as an butterfly" Sugu mumbled regrettably "he is way too easy to overcome"
"Yeah but maybe you could train him" I mumbled with a smile "You could be his Kendo sensei"
"Me? His sensei?" She mumbled in surprise "Y-You think I´m that good at Kendo?"
"For you to win over a guy who has been fighting with a sword two years straight," I mumbled as I took a sip of my milk "I would say yes"
"Oh yeah.." She mumbled softly "Well I have been practicing for many years, so maybe I´ll give that sensei stuff a shot"
"That´s the spirit!" I said with a smirk "Now If you would excuse me"
I smiled and nodded as I stood up from my chair.
"Huh? You´re already leaving?" My aunt asked in surprise.
"Yeah I am" I said with a smile as I made my way to the entranceway "I have been told that my girlfriend has a surprise for me!"
"What!?" I heard from the kitchen.
"What? Do you know something Sugu?" I said with a teaseful smile as I put on my shoes.
"N-No nothing at all!" She exclaimed loudly.
"Alright then" I said as I opened the door "See you later guys!"
I closed the door behind me and began running down the street towards my girlfriends house. Now that I had finally seen her residence up close I finally knew how to get there, without running around aimlessly or getting lost in town. Sure enough, soon Asuna´s house towered above all the rest, being as prestige as it was.
I smiled a little as I began approaching the house. For some reason I always got nervous when I was coming towards that house. I guess it had something to do with how much I wanted Asuna´s parents to approve of me. I would always check if my hair and clothes were appropriate before walking up onto their porch.
Today I wasn´t as nervous as I used to be though. Maybe it had something to do with how well I had acquainted with Kyouko and Shouzou-san lately, maybe I considered more like family, instead of just Asuna´s parents. I was happy I was getting to know them better, cause this would mean we would be getting a less formal relationship, and that would make it less tense and nervous between us.
I smiled and took the last step up to their front door, feeling no need to take a deep breath like I used to. I grinned a bit and knocked on the door with my left arm. Not many moments passed before I could hear tip-tapping from high heeled shoes coming from inside, and soon the door opened up, revealing Asuna on the other side.
"Huh? Kazuto?" She said with a surprise "You didn´t say you would come over"
"No but I have heard something interesting" I mumbled softly as I politely stepped inside and pecked her cheek.
"Huh? Interesting?" Asuna tilted her head "What could that possibly be?"
She was faking her curiosity. Trying to keep a straight face, pretending to not know what I was talking about.
"Oh I think you know what I´m talking about" I said with a sly smirk as I slipped of my Nike´s
"Really?" Asuna mumbled, trying not to laugh "I-I don´t know what you´re talking about!"
"Oh yeah?" I asked "Your quivering lips and nervously darting eyes is saying something else!"
I looked at her with a sarcastic rise of an elbow and a smirk as I teasingly brought our faces close together, only to tease and fluster her even more, hoping it would make her spill the beans.
"U-Uh uhmm I-I" Asuna blushed bright red and smiled nervously "Y-You see uhh…"
I smiled sweetly and chuckled almost devilishly as I brought my face even closer to hers.
"What?" I smiled innocently "You´re still getting flustered about stuff like this, even after that romantic dance number yesterday?"
"H-Hey! You know how I get lost in those kind of moments" She mumbled as she hit my shoulder and pouted.
"Exactly" I said with a smirk "That´s how I know when and how to tease you!"
"Dummy…"She mumbled as her cheeks flared up in a dark red.
"You´re cute when you are like this though" I mumbled as I pecked her lips.
"Now you get all romantic all of a sudden" She mumbled as she softly kissed me back "You´re hard to read!"
"Hehe but that´s what I´m supposed to be" I said with a smirk "That´s what being the black swordsman is all about"
"true" Asuna said with a smirk "A loner. A mysterious figure appearing on the battlefield, like a superhero coming for the aid of the civility"
"I was no hero back then" I mumbled shyly.
Now it was my time to get flustered, and Asuna immediately and mercilessly took and used the chance to the fullest.
"You saved more than 4000 people" She said with an innocent and soul piercing smile "That seems pretty heroic to me!"
"W-Well that was only because," I mumbled softly, but flusteredly "I-I had to protect you and our friends.."
"Exactly. You always think of everyone else first" Asuna mumbled softly caressing my left cheek with her hand.
I couldn´t say anything because of my fluster, simply blushing and darting my eyes around in the entranceway, trying to focus on anything but Asuna´s eyes, and then reveal how flustered I really was. I still knew I was failing though, when I could feel how heated my face became, no doubt being a blush crawling onto my cheeks.
I cleared my throat trying to bring the subject onto the matter I had come here for in the first place.
"A-Anyway" I mumbled as I looked at Asuna "What is it I hear about a surprise for me?"
Asuna smiled a bit.
"I guess there´s no point in hiding it anymore!" She said with a giggle "Were going on a romantic skiing vacation by the Himalaya Mountains!"
I looked at her dumbfounded, as I let my mind process the information it had just received. I looked at her in minor shock, trying to figure out if she was kidding or not, or if it might had been a dream of some kind. I tried to pinch my arm, but when I soon yelped a little in pain, I realized this wasn´t a dream.
Asuna´s sincere and sweet expression told me that this was no joke either. This was real. But even so I couldn´t help but ask her in complete disbelief.
"What?" I asked as I stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Yep" She said with a smle "You and I are going on a romantic skiing vacation to the Himalaya Mountains"
"R-Really?!"
When I finally snapped out of my dumbfounded trance my face lit up in pure excitement and ecstasy. Being on vacation to a foreign country, with the most important person in my life. It still seemed like I was dreaming, but I knew it weren´t. I grabbed Asuna by the waist and swung her around.
"You are the best girlfriend ever!" I yelled happily as I hugged her close "H-How can you even afford something like this!?"
"Well my parents are helping me pay so…" She said with a bright smile as she kissed both my cheeks "But how did you figure out I had a surprise for you!?"
"I won´t tell. My sources will remain secret!" I said with a happy grin.
"Yui?" Asuna said with a raise of an eyebrow and I chuckled.
"Yui!" I responded, laughing along with Asuna.
She kissed my cheek as I put her down and I smiled at her as I held her close by her waist.
"Do you know how precious you are to me?" I asked as I looked into her caramel brown eyes.
"About as precious as you are to me Kazuto" She mumbled as she leaned up and kissed me deeply.
I smiled and exhaled as I relaxed my body and breathing, smiling widely as I happily kissed her back. I closed my eyes happily and savored the moment with my girl, excitedly awaiting the moment we would be on our way to Himalaya. Awaiting a new romantic adventure.
A/N
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed!
So now I´m going to focus a bit more on Kazuto´s and Asuna´s relationship together, and how it will grow on this new adventure. How will it turn out? We´ll found out the next couple of weeks :D
See you next week! And keep reading!