School was as lively as ever as Haru walked down a hallway, his eyes constantly trained on the ground. Only occasionally did he glance upward to avoid bumping into any other people, but other than that, he was entirely lost in thought. Last night simply would not leave his mind…

When he had woken up from the Accelerated World, he simply found himself back upon his couch, a blanket wrapped around him that he couldn't even remember. And through the entire rest of the night, he couldn't forget the feeling of her arms around him. How she held him for as long as he needed, and somehow, the feeling that she had remained for him the entire time… she was the Black King, he had seen firsthand how easily she could defeat anyone who crossed her path as her enemy, and still, her bladed arms held him so…

His breath almost hitched. His body froze when his eyes caught a single glimpse of Kuroyukihime just at the other end of the hallway. And the moment he had noticed her, so too did she stand still for a second upon catching sight of him. In a mere instance, all the memories and sensations from last night flooded back into his mind, and his heart started to furiously beat against his chest.

It overwhelmed him, and before he knew it, he almost immediately turned around another corner to break line of sight, all without ever glancing up from the ground. For that way, he could not see the expression she held…

… why… why him…?

When he finally arrived at his classroom and opened the door, Taku immediately took note of the arrival of his friend and rose from his chair.

"Haru! Is everything alright? How do you feel?", concern was evident within Taku's eyes after everything he had witnessed last night. When he had found out that Haru had been possessed by the Armor of Catastrophe… he had felt so helpless, so useless. He was unable to help his friend, and yet, in the end, Black Lotus had saved the day and rescued him, just like that. He knew it hadn't been that easy, but still, after she had told him to leave them alone, he felt reluctant to simply leave without having been of any assistance.

But he knew that, if someone could take care of Haru, then it was her. So, when he had returned from the Accelerated World and saw the way Haru was now peacefully sleeping on the couch, he had wrapped a blanket around his small form before he wished them both well, knowing that, even though it wasn't in the real world, Kurohime was with him.

Naturally, now that Taku could see Haru up and about again, he simply had to ask.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine. Really…", as he mumbled, Haru could see the way Taku was analyzing him closely, his brows furrowing ever so slightly.

"That was what you told me last evening as well, Haru. I…", for a small moment, Taku hesitated in his train of thought, and in the end, he merely heaved a long sigh instead of starting an argument just now when Haru was well again.

"... I'm just glad that Kurohime was there so quickly to help. I don't want to imagine how it would have ended otherwise.", a shiver coursed through Haru's entire body when her name rang in his ears, and his heartbeat was starting to pick up again. When he glanced around the classroom, he noticed that Chiyu was regarding them from her seat as well, and he guessed that Taku must have told her at least roughly of what had transpired last night.

Without wanting to worry them any more, Haru simply walked to his seat next to Taku and for the rest of the day, he simply tried to suppress his thoughts throughout the lessons.

…

When the school bell rang for the last time, Haru was as usual on his way out of the schoolyard. The lessons hadn't managed at all to shift his attention away from his previous thoughts, instead, it only served for him to practically miss out on anything that the teachers had said.

However, just as he exited the school ground, a calm voice snapped him out of his mind.

"Haruyuki.", his body froze, and when he turned his head, he only then witnessed that Kuroyukihime had been leaning against the stone wall at the exit of the schoolyard through which everyone had to leave. Which meant that, if one were to patiently wait there, if they were looking for a certain someone in particular, they just needed to wait there for whoever it was that they wanted to meet. For sooner or later, the person they searched would just come to them instead.

Unbeknownst to Haru, it was exactly what she did.

"O-oh, hey senpai.", out of habit, he slightly rubbed the back of his head with his hand while he glanced at the ground. Actually, he would have glanced anywhere but her. Kurohime regarded him calmly, her expression revealing nothing almost as if she were pondering about something deeply.

He knew that he had been trying hard to avoid her the entire day, lest his feelings all but overwhelmed him, so if she were to bring it up right now, he-

"Can we walk home together? We could chat for a little.", the faintest tinge of hopefulness shone through her eyes, something that went entirely unnoticed to Haru.

And so, albeit reluctantly, he nodded.

"Sure…"

…

Their walk home together was mostly uneventful, and even though Kurohime sometimes asked how he felt after… that… she was mostly quiet as well. However, once they arrived at his apartment, she insisted that she went with him up until they were in front of his door. And just when Haru was about to break the silence between them to thank her for accompanying him, as well as to wish her a good afternoon, she was the first one to beat him to it when she suddenly spoke up.

"Haru, can I ask you for a favor? I have been pondering about it for a long while today… you mentioned the last time that your mother is still on a business trip for another three days, correct?", when those words registered in Haru's mind, he unknowingly began to shrink in front of her as she gazed into his eyes, not sure how he felt about where he thought this was going.

"Y-yeah… why…?", her eyes seemed to gleam for a brief moment, and before he knew it, she held a pondering expression, albeit there was nothing for her to ponder about, for her plan had long set into motion.

"I was thinking that, with the upcoming Turf Wars this week, it would be beneficial to have a base of operations for all the members of Nega Nebulis to meet should the need arise, but up till now, I hadn't been sure which place would be big enough… you wouldn't happen to have an idea, would you…?"

"I… I guess… my apartment…?", and slowly but surely, a smile grew upon her lips before she leaned down slightly to gaze into his eyes at eye level.

"Perfect… I was just about to propose the same thing…", however, her smile faded again when she looked at him a little bit more seriously.

"But, I also thought that, as leader, I should be present for as long as the Turf Wars last. Would that be an issue for you…?"

"No, you can…", her words slowly registered in his mind one after another as he wholeheartedly focused to calm his heart down, but once the meaning of them dawned upon him-

"Wait… what?!"

…

Silence reigned within the room, and both Haru as well as Kurohime had long changed into sleepwear, with her settling for a pajama that she had just so happened to have taken with her for…

'... I' ve… had one for emergencies. You never know when you might need one!'

… that was how she had put it.

However, Haru' s heart was beating faster than usual as they both sat on the edge of his bed, looking outside of his window to watch how the setting sun was slowly starting to disappear from the sky. He had another small makeshift bed across from his own, and once they would go to sleep, he would simply make use of it and-

"... Haruyuki, you have been avoiding me today, haven't you…?", and suddenly, he froze. He didn't know what to say to that, and even though he was looking towards the ground, he could feel her eyes upon him. But… she was not angry, all that her tone revealed was genuine confusion, and even though she knew him, and she already knew that he had been doing exactly just that today, she simply wanted to hear from himself why he had-

"I'm so sorry senpai…!", a light gasp escaped her lips the moment Haru's emotions suddenly erupted within him, and he buried his face in his arms. It… had still not answered her question, but slowly but surely, she leaned down, regarding him more closely.

"I just… after everything that happened yesterday, I just… I wanted to say that…", with seemingly more and more anticipation for his words, Kurohime still kept a calm expression as she listened to his every word.

"... I've… I have actually fought against you…", and suddenly, her eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I sweared to myself that I would never fight against you, I don't ever want to fight against you…!", at the very edge of his eyes, tears were building up. And even though he couldn't see her expression while he was covering his face, he whispered with a quivering voice.

"... the thought of fighting against you, of having you as my enemy… it is terrifying…"

And suddenly, he was startled when a strong weight applied against his back and chest, and before he knew it, he was pulled down upon his bed. His eyes frantically darted around to look back at her-

-only to see that she was hugging him closely in a strong grip, and much like the night before within the Accelerated World, she was holding him close, her face close to his ear before she tenderly whispered.

"... and I will forever be grateful that I have you on my side… I promise, I will never give you to anyone, Haru…"

The only difference was, this time, it was not solemnly within the Accelerated World, for this time, she was actually beside him, not even an inch away from him anymore.

But before he could reply in any way, after his mind had calmed at least slightly from its sudden shock at her abrupt actions, he realized that Kurohime was entirely unresponsive. Shifting his head ever so slightly towards her direction, he could feel her warm breath against his ear, for her eyes were already closed and she was sound asleep, albeit she unconsciously still kept him within her grasp.

Had she been that tired…? She… she did get some rest last night, didn't she…?

And then, a dreadful thought entered his mind, guilt filling him entirely.

She didn't stay awake the entire night worrying, did she…? What if… what if during school, she had already been so tired and simply covered it up…?

A gasp escaped his lips, and as he lay there, with Kurohime never ceasing her grip on him in the slightest, he didn't know what to do. He had wanted to quietly put a blanket over her and walk over to use his makeshift bed on the other side, but… even the smallest shift or attempt to move away from her was met with fierce resistance, clinging on to him even in her sleep as if her life depended on it.

And thus, slowly but surely, he pulled a blanket over them both, and he simply stayed put, regarding her peaceful face for another small moment.

"... sleep well, senpai…"

And unbeknownst to him, even in her sleep, a small smile graced her lips.

The sun was shining brightly outside on the next morning, and just as Haruyuki exited his kitchen with a glass of water, still in his sleepwear, a knock suddenly sounded against his door. Wondering who it could be that early in the morning, especially since it was on the start of the weekend, not many people came into question.

Thus, he placed his water glass upon the kitchen table before he approached the door and opened it.

"Good morning, Haru. I thought I might check up on you to see how you were doing.", it was Taku. A small smile formed upon Haru's lips in gratitude at his friend's thoughtfulness.

"Thanks, I'm doing much better!", a grateful smile appeared on Taku's lips as well, obviously relieved. However, Taku's brows furrowed ever so slightly in a mixture of confusion and uneasiness when he suddenly heard steps coming from Haru's living room. And suddenly, his jaw almost dropped.

In the back, Kurohime almost casually strode through the kitchen and towards the bathroom, still dressed in her pajamas before she held a hand to her mouth when she yawned, slowly rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleepiness that was still tugging at them until she disappeared in the bathroom and gently closed the door behind her.

Haru stared at Taku's frozen face with oblivious confusion, the latter having watched the entire scene with utter shock, especially since their legion master had not even paid attention to Haru's visitor, acting almost as though she had always been living here.

And slowly but surely, it dawned upon Haru.

"Wait, wait…!", Taku's eyes slowly etched down towards Haru with two hugely raised eyebrows, and Haru could have died on the spot.

"I CAN EXPLAIN!"

The Brutal Legend: I was surprised as well to see that the same creators had made SAO, I hadn't realized it for a long time while watching. But even though this fandom is non-existent compared to the one of SAO, I liked Accel World much more…

… welp, can't speak for everyone. Thanks as always for taking the time to read! I've decided to just continue it, unlike with bigger fandoms, here I might get the chance to finally just write about whatever I want instead of worrying how it will be perceived by a larger audience. So thanks a lot for sticking around!