Title: First Meetup
Prompt: First Meeting
Summary: Kirigaya Kazuto is a growing boy. He's got a date with someone he's never met before. Now is the time to panic.
First thing Kirigaya Kazuto did upon awakening on Saturday was panic.
He threw his comforters aside in a whirlwind of excitement and fear. No alarm clock music. No phone alarm ring.
No. No. No. No…
Saturday. Please be on time…
7:48 am.
A glance out his two-walled window confirmed an overcast sky and the sunrise briefly peaking out from behind the gray clouds. A windy gust rattled the thick angled window fixture with a slight rumble but otherwise held firm.
A cold drafty autumn finally arrived. And with it, bad omens, and fear.
Well, not truly. Kazuto just had a date.
Taking a breather, he accepted that he was still very early and on time. But that also gave him time to dread. Careful consideration as his waking mind finally caught up to his feet. He stood on his hardwood floor with no socks on and no carpeting.
Cold.
Cold. Cold. Cold.
Kazuto startled back, landing atop his warm and comfy body-heat-kept bed in a sporadic period of shock.
Everything was cold. He wanted to go back to bed. Kazuto looked out the window and then back at his comforters in forlorn.
Yeah. That wasn't happening.
The ping from his auto-starting computer informed him as such. A new LINE message from one KattyARGO:33.
「 Hey Kazu. Ready for today? 」
Offering himself a defeated sigh, the boy scared out of his wits rose from his crumpled bed sheet and comforters and planted his feet back on the freezing floor. In a rush he slipped on wool socks and some long dark sports pants while mumbling to himself, "I guess I got to go do this then…"
Argo wasn't someone he thought of meeting weeks or months before today. But things always change, especially with the unexpected matters that come out of nowhere from some unseen corner or another.
To buy himself some time, he didn't wander to his computer. He didn't grab his smartphone as he did most mornings. He grabbed the water bottle from his night rest and walked straight for the bedroom door and out into the hallway.
Down the narrow second story atrium, Kazuto heard the whisper of a sizzling frying pan from down the stairs and the kitchen below. Mom was awake. He stopped and listened for more noises, anything to register others in the house.
Clacking of a computer. Dad was in the kitchen probably nose-deep in his work computer. Overtime again. The Japanese salary worker lifestyle striking once more. Kazuto didn't really see himself in that future. He preferred his mother's busy schedule in fact, contract work while a talent-driven field paid better and allowed more wiggle room on the work hours and environment. Still, she too lived a sparse life at home and more behind a desk.
Today was just one of those family days without being a family day.
What Kazuto didn't hear was the second-story shower. Suguha wasn't going through her morning routine then. His turn.
He wandered into the separated bathroom between his room and his sister's and set the door aside. A hint of warm condensate tinged the mirror, and the bathroom overhead window even more so. Oh well, his sister did finish for the morning. Probably gone before daybreak then. Kendo tournament maybe?
Kazuto winced at not knowing her schedule. He should ask next time, but… He probably wouldn't.
The boy pulled off his clothing articles, tossed the used fluffy-pink towel in the hamper beneath the bathroom counter. He pulled a fresh brown one from the nearby cabinet and went about his business.
Extra steamy warm water for his scrawny, freezing physique. Warm that cold skin and bones. A generous amount of shampoo and conditioner. Wait, how much is generous… or too generous?
Lather here and later there.
Grab the scrub sponge. Scrub here. Scrub there.
Did he want to steal his sister's shampoo? It smelled nice. Did girls like it when guys smelled that way? Or maybe his normal shampoo was enough?
He was overthinking it. Kazuto knew that. He overthought everything anyway.
Out of the shower. Towel down everything. Ow, maybe he scrubbed too hard…
Moisturizer so Kazuto doesn't crack or peel on a really bad day like this. Grab the toothbrush…
On second thought, after breakfast. Did he need a breath mint? Was this even that kind of date?
The hyperventilating boy exited the steamy sanctuary towel wrapped around his waste and clothes in hand, warm but catching chills just from entering the hallway. Retreat to his room! Now! Immediately! Go, go, go!
Cold. Cold. Cold.
Back into bed…? Unfortunately, no.
Kazuto glanced back to his computer screen.
KattyARGO:33:
「 Hey Kazu. Ready for today? 」
「 Kazuto? 」
「 Hey buddy. 」
「 Yo. 」
「 Ki. My dude. 」
Four new messages. Kazuto wanted to scream frantically but kept a lid in hopes of keeping his soul from exiting his body through his hinging jaw.
Uh? What does he type? What is he supposed to say?
Think. Think. Think.
AdvKiritoLIMITED:
「 Hey. 」
That should stall her. He saw online that girls didn't know how to respond to a guy who sent short messages. For once, using bad romantic advice sounded like a good idea.
Buy time.
Kazuto shut down his computer and synced his LINE account back to his smartphone. A glance at the clock, 8:12 am, meant he still had something like fifty minutes to make the meeting.
Argo did say 9:10 am.
The boy wandered from his room, confirming that his V-neck tee wasn't too wrinkled or some how wrapped in loose body hair or dust. He wanted to make a good impression but he was already sacrificing enough to make this work. The least he could do was try and look immaculate.
"Kazuto. Are you done up there?" Kazuto's mother called from the distant stairwell.
Glancing to his open door, Kazuto replied as he forced his arms into a baggy winter coat with fur ends on the hood. "Yeah. Almost. I'll be down in two."
Kazuto wandered out of his room, wondering it all this would be enough. He never went on a date before. He was still having a hard time imagining this as a date. Or calling it a date.
They were Argo's words. Not his. Her question out of the blue. He barely knew her. Well, technically he knew more of her than she knew of him.
Her words from last week. Something caught between a discussion on the upcoming mystery that was the Argus Corporation's Sword Art Online project and whether Western or Eastern small unit tactics translated better into Kingdom Born, their shared, favorite real-time strategy game of late. One of the few things the two got along over and shared between the two of them.
But her question was out of the blue. Out of character, out of his comfort zone. A cruel joke.
「 I was wondering, Kirito. I'm going to be in the Tokyo area next Saturday. Got a birthday party I'm attending and I want to get a gift for a friend. She likes to travel to Tokyo a lot but I've never been and I don't know the area. A certain someone I know lives in Tokyo so I figure I would ask him and call it a date between buds. I could use a tough strong man to escort little ol' me. So. You down or out? 」
Kazuto really wished he said he was out.
But they had been getting along rather well recently. It beat him writing a commenting auto-script to spam her live stream with "Argo the Cat" comments. It beat her getting him banned from his own medieval strategy wiki where he moderated.
He was their best scripter and most informed writer. But then she sent the administrators their DMs and within the day he was out on the virtual street. Permabanned from his chatroom and his community.
Damn that Argo.
It was her fault. She encouraged her community to pre-review bomb a game he looked forward to. Even with the microtransaction concerns. It was just the follower-cat line, she could've just gotten the free dog followers just fine. He alpha-tested that game. She didn't get her demanded review copy.
It was her fault.
Whatever. He was over it. Mostly over it.
Kazuto's phone buzzed in his pocket as he wandered down the stairs. He ignored it.
Buy time.
"Kazuto-honey, do you want any breakfast?"
Kazuto's mother called from the kitchen as he approached to the sound of the frying pan and the typing laptop.
"Just something light if we got anything."
"There's toast on the counter, I've got a couple well-fried eggs here. You can make an egg sandwich or two if you like."
Kazuto nodded, sliding past his father at the table who didn't look up as he approached.
"Good morning," Kazuto muttered which received a quiet and similar response in kind.
The boy grabbed a plate of cooler toast and stood next to his mother as she dropped a piece of crispy egg onto his plate. Kazuto added a little soy from the condiment basket and joined the kitchen table, quickly scarfing down his meal without the more respectful theatrics.
"Kazuto. Slow down. I don't want you choking at my breakfast table," His mother grounded out in concern and mock anger.
"Sorry Auntie—" Kazuto stopped himself but the word slipped out as his eyes widen in fright.
Kazuto's 'father' glanced up from his screen at the boy, glanced at his wife, and then back at the screen. Kazuto's 'mother' didn't even react.
"Just chew slower. I'm not shoving a water bottle down your throat again."
Kazuto's mother-technically-aunt chuckled to herself at the last part.
"Yes, ma'am… Did Suguha leave already?"
"Mmhmm. Kendo tournament at Johtoh Senior High. You should go watch. I'm sure she would be happy to see you."
Kazuto stilled a little, his sandwich stuck in mid-bite.
"Mm-hmmm… I… I actually already have plans, Mom."
"Oh… No problem, sweetie…" Kazuto's aunt sighed with visible resignation from the stove top. The reaction was familiar and it made Kazuto feel guilty. Even more than a few minutes earlier. But it was familiar…
"It's uh… I'm going out."
"No problem. Call me when you're free, I might need you to get something from the market. Will you be free in two hours?"
Kazuto mulled over the request.
"I don't know. I'm going with a friend."
Kazuto's phone buzzed again. He didn't reach for it.
"Where are you going? I thought you only hung out with your friends on games or at the school lab."
Kazuto hesitated once more, wondering how much he should say.
"No. This is a different friend. She's from out of town and needed help picking out a gift for a friend."
Kazuto's aunt whirled rather quickly to look at him with a slightly stunned look.
"She?"
"Uh-uh. Yeah…"
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly in perplexity.
"A girl… So that's why your shirt doesn't look fuzzy."
"I—"
"And why you smell nice. By the way, you do smell nice."
"Uh… Thanks—"
"You hear that, Minetaka? Our boy is growing up!" Kazuto's aunt squeaked even as she turned back to her cooking stove.
The husband grunted in affirmation but passed Kazuto another glance, this time lasting a few seconds. His eyes were far more warm than usual. Strained and a little puffy from overworking behind a computer screen, but supportive. His firm and snappy thumbs up helped confirm it as he went back to work.
At least they didn't turn it into a big deal or embarrass him.
Kazuto retreated from the kitchen upon finishing his dish and left it in the sink for his aunt to clean. He took care of the chores most days but he was on a short schedule this morning. A glance from his aunt said enough that he was off the hook.
Well, sort of.
"Oh, and Kazuto?"
"Yeah?" The boy glanced back to the kitchen from the entry hall.
"Treat her well," Kazuto's aunt emphasized with a slight grin. "If she says she's not feeling it, don't push. And be sure to pay the first time. You have your coding pay after all."
Kazuto heated up in both embarrassment and annoyance as if her words broke him down into little pieces right there. He bolted for the stairs and went to brush his teeth in a flushed furry as he stared into the mirror and scrutinized every self-detail as his mouth foamed with violent curses and bubbles.
Dammit Argo. All your fault. Day ruined.
Kazuto's smartphone buzzed again.
He gave a gruff and long sigh that sounded more like a war cry than resignation. Kazuto pulled it out and glanced down.
KattyARGO:33:
「 A date, dude. Get your ass in gear. 」
「 Don't leave me hanging. 」
「 Are you ditching me? 」
Warning klaxons wailed in Kazuto's head. Too much bought time. He screwed up. He didn't get girls.
He wanted to retreat to a lonely island and live his life out as a hermit. A cyber island where he's a computer pirate and can live in his digital world all by himself with no girls to worry about. Just him, his peg leg, and his pet parrot Patchy. The parrot gets an eye patch, not him.
AdvKiritoLIMITED:
「 Already on the way. What about you? 」
Kazuto slipped on his black runners. Pulled his mountain bike off the hallway mount.
KattyARGO:33:
「 Two more train hops. I can't wait to see your ugly mug. 」
He texted back from the Kirigaya home's front step.
AdvKiritoLIMITED:
「 Argo… Please… 」
KattyARGO:33:
「 No Argo the Cat? 」
She wasn't over it either, was she…
AdvKiritoLIMITED:
「 Peace? For today. 」
KattyARGO:33:
「 Sure. Oh, by the way. Correction: three minutes from destination. Tick tock. 」
Kazuto nearly screamed a war cry out of fear as he pedaled out of his driveway and around the corner towards his suburb exit. Screw that Argo. She was going to kill him for sure.
It was 8:55 am. He was supposed to have some more time.
Despite the typing terror that was Argo, Kazuto found himself minutely able to enjoy himself. Bike rides were a glorious undertaking. Fast moving, wind in his face. Great for the whole body, not just the legs, and he could go a lot more places under his own power without worry about money or permission. His bike could take him just far enough to be adventurous and stay close enough to home to not worry anyone with location-sharing.
Rolling around to the arcade they agreed to meet at three blocks from Kawagoe Station, Kazuto gave a great fright when a foreign-looking girl nearly jogged right into his front tire.
Kazuto threw his body weight back and made to crouch, pulling the wheel back and raising himself as if drawing his horse spurs into his noble steed. Now all he needed was for the bike to belt out a hearty neigh.
"Sorry! Sorry!" The girl called as she screeched her basketball high tops across the concrete sidewalk. Kazuto only managed to briefly catch sight of the girl's dirty-blonde and shaggy-like hair before his one-tire trick lost balance and he sailed back down to earth.
He crashed and his tail bone screamed out for mercy, and bloody murder. Kazuto's bike crackled to the floor as the foreigner girl bounced forward in a vein attempt to catch the boy or the bike.
"Sorry!" The girl shouted again in sympathy and embarrassment. Pushing through the pain, Kazuto noted her Japanese seemed perfect, clearly native. An odd combination. She also spoke with a near-lisp, especially with something of a nasally inflection.
Kazuto groaned out, ignoring the pain riding up his back and made to stand up. He nearly faltered on wobbly legs but the girl caught his air-grasping hands and yanked him up with surprising strength.
"Hey kid, really sorry about that. I didn't hear you coming because of my headphones."
The foreign girl pointed to her cat-ear-tipped headphones now hanging from her neck.
"It's-it's alright. It happens," Kazuto glanced down at his sports pants and tried to dust them off as best he could. Unfortunately, they turned a very distinct chalk-gray on his butt from the fall. No way to remove that but from a machine wash.
"I mean it. I'm sorry. Uh, look, I'm in a hurry to meet somebody. This is the Watson Watts Arcade, right?"
The girl pointed to the arcade Kazuto was to meet Argo at.
"It is," Kazuto confirmed.
"Thanks, I'm meeting them there actually."
Kazuto scrutinized the girl up and down as he lifted his sturdy bike from the pavement. The accident-causing girl dressed somewhat casual but with distinct and familiar Japanese youth fashion for winter. A pale green hoodie two sizes too big, or otherwise a male jacket. The jacket zipper parted to reveal a sweater with a northern J-Pop punk band's logo that Kazuto vaguely recognized. A plain black skirt and legs clad in dark sports tights.
Really the most standout items were her cat ear headphones and her messy hair that while tamed, didn't escape its bedhead origins.
The boy dropped his first instinctual question without hesitation. "Are you Argo?"
The possibly-Argo squinted at Kazuto in suspicion, not responding immediately. She looked the boy up and down, scrutinizing him back. She looked down into her smartphone and typed something out.
Kazuto's phone promptly buzzed as he pulled his own out.
KattyARGO:33:
「 Ran into a weird guy. 」
The boy didn't bother responding, he showed it to the foreign-looking girl.
"Wait… You're Kirito?" The confusion, shock, and possibly dread sprouted across Argo's face.
She mumbled quietly to herself but Kazuto caught it anyway.
"Oh no… You're cute…"
Kazuto did something smart. "Huh?"
Argo put her fingers to her forehead as she shook it in annoyance. Something about this encounter was not to her liking. Kazuto could say the same somewhat. The fact that he almost ran over a girl, or that said girl was both a good online friend and the bane of his existence. She was also very pretty in a tomboyish kind of way.
"You're Argo?" Kazuto asked again, this time a little louder.
Argo promptly clamped a hand over his mouth.
"No. Don't call me that. I know there's like three other Argo V-tubers out there but I do not need that unnecessary attention right here, right now."
Argo gestured to the slightly-busy crowd passing by the arcade, cafes, and Kawagoe-famous candy shops. Kazuto's neighborhood did have a popular tourism economy.
And they were near an arcade. People might recognize Argo's voice. He was beginning to recognize it with each passing second.
"Sorry," Kazuto muttered into her hand. He pushed it aside finally. "What would you like me to call you then?"
Kazuto gave her his name during the exchange of their LINE contact info but she remained rather tight-lipped the week or two before. Then again, Kazuto never asked for hers either. He did know she was a girl. That kind of stuff it was kind of Internet etiquette to respect a woman's privacy.
"Carina." Argo responded after some consideration. The way she pronounced it sounded a little foreign but also odd on her own lips as she said it with her own native accent.
"You don't really look like a Carina," Kazuto admitted. Well, she did look a little like one. A half-Japanese girl then.
"It's my middle name."
"Ah," Kazuto accepted, whatever a middle name was. If this was Argo, she was one big mystery. She acted like someone who was a native but then threw a curveball like that. It wasn't entirely odd though, she just played most of her interactions close to the chest as usual. "Well, I guess we both got here a little early…"
"Sorry I tripped you, Kii-bou."
Kazuto cringed at her vocal pet-name for him in their online chats.
"Maybe could you stick to my real name in public?"
Carina shook her head.
"Oh, come on…"
She smirked. "When a pretty girl gives you a nickname, you should be honored Kazuto. It means she likes you. Now, let's get this date started, shall we?"
Kazuto gapped down at her as she slinked her arms around his free side and led him along towards the bike racks in front of the arcade. Kazuto's bike wouldn't be needed today.
"I'll buy you an ice cream of your choice as an apology for tripping you."
"Uh… Thanks?"
"But we're sharing it."
Kazuto flushed once more, and not for the last time that day.
A/N: SAO Fanfiction Central invited me to participate in a writing event based around the premise of a fanfic relationship between Sword Art Online's Argo and Kirito. From the October 31 to November 6, we will be putting out short stories dedicated to different themes.
In order these are: First Meeting, Food, Secrets, Dungeon, Rest, Weather and Family.
Despite not being my usual projects, I figure I would experiment and join in the fun with these crazed fiends that I dub the "Cult of Kargo" but I digress. I hope you enjoyed this first entry.
If you wish to join their Discord channel, you can find it here: discord . gg /z9Pz3Jzc7y (remove spaces).
Thanks to organizers Agent 94 and flamelordytheking for setting up KiriArgo Week 2021, and again to Agent for continuing to drag me into these things and for the Discord link since I'm too lazy to generate my own.