Welcome to Chapter Twenty-Two! This time around, Ian decides to show Suguha his photo album after a kendo match, but after coming across a certain photo, the American's deepest regrets soon surface.

This chapter was partially inspired by Nickelback's song Photograph, a wonderful song about childhood nostalgia, as I couldn't figure out what to do for an SAO chapter otherwise (if you like rock songs, go check Photograph out for yourself.) I need to stop worrying about GFL: The Recollection so much.

It doesn't help that I noticed some really flawed stuff in my writing of this story, including unnecessary awkwardness, previously mentioned shota bullshit by mistake, and more. Even worse is that I feel I went too far in my RvB fics in OOC'ing the Reds and Blues (and whether Grif and Simmons' reactions to Donut shipping them is funny or unnecessarily homophobic,) which is why I focused on writing GFL: Recollection and Origin Story.

Personal whining aside, enjoy!

(Note 1: FFN finally added Hiyori Kashiwazaka to the SAO character list! It's about time, FFN!)

(Note 2: I reiterate, there will be NO SMUT in the Lone Wolf Saga or any of my stories. That's what Be a Hopeless Romantic is for.)

Kirigaya Residence, Kawagoe

Japan, Real World

August 25, 2022

Ian Becker

The signature clank of bamboo-on-bamboo resounded through the Kirigayas' medium-sized dojo as Ian and Suguha dueled, their movements on-point and their strikes precise, although Suguha's strikes were getting a little too precise, the former thought as he deflected a quick attack, going around her and attempting to land a hit in her side-- only for his own attack to be blocked.

Damn it, she's still too-- crap!

Once again, Ian was swept off of his feet, landing on his ass and dropping his weapon, and before he could recover, his opponent's shinai was at his neck.

"You win." he told Suguha, panting lightly as she lowered her weapon and stepped back.

"You still up for more?" she suggested.

"Why not?"

Retrieving his shinai and standing back up, Ian got into position again and when ten seconds passed and Suguha was in place, their dueling was resumed in earnest.

Two Hours Later...

"Man, I'm beat..."

"Ditto..."

Leaving the dojo, the two were now sat down on the back patio of the Kirigaya Residence, Ian collapsing on the concrete floor due to his lower endurance. Suguha, however, still had some energy left and was absentmindedly swinging a shinai to practice her moves.

"How the hell are you not exhausted?" he asked breathlessly, laying on his side as he witnessed his teacher's movements.

"I've been at this for years, so I can go at it for a pretty long time." she replied lightly, punctuating it with a strong vertical swing, her shinai slicing through the air effortlessly.

"Right."

They stayed like that for a good bit, and as he watched her practice, he only then realized how good she looked. From her cute, neat bob-cut that stuck to her head to her vivid blueish black eyes and her adorable face that held an expression of determination to her fair skin that shone with sweat to her... assets that her clothes hid from the world, the teenage boy could hardly believe he had managed to meet such a gorgeous girl.

Then again, you did meet Sophia, and your sister's a bombshell, too... some part of his mind told him.

But Nikki's my sister, and me and Soph have known each other for so long that even considering her as a romantic interest would be weird as hell. his more logical side thought-replied hotly.

It was an unfortunate fact of life that Ian was easily bored, and as such, even as he filed away any new movements his teacher made and admired her beauty, he was also trying to figure out how he could pass the time. Soon, though, his mind fell onto his photo album, and he knew exactly what to do.

"Hey, Suguha?"

"Huh?" The kendoist stopped practicing swings so she could hear him out.

"I don't think I've ever shown you my photo album before, so do you wanna look at it with me?" the dark-haired teen asked nonchalantly.

"Um... okay, Ian-san. Did you bring it with you?"

It was only then that Ian realized that he had not brought the album with him, a scowl crossing his face as he internally cursed himself out.

"Crap. Uh, there's some time left, so we could go to my place again." he quickly suggested, checking his phone to see the time.

"That's fine, just let me get changed!" Suguha told him, heading into the house to get a more casual outfit put on, with Ian casually chuckling at her energetic movements as he forced himself to stand.

And it was then that he realized he did show his album to her in the park.

"Damn it."

"Hey, Al's home!"

Ian carefully led Suguha, who now wore a red jacket over a black shirt with blue shorts, through his front yard, the grey sedan parked in the garage foretelling of the eldest Becker sibling's presence, and with a vigor not present for most of the trip, the younger Becker hurriedly got to the brown front door and enthusiastically knocked on it.

Waiting patiently for the door to open, they were greeted with the sight of Allan Becker clad in casual clothes when he opened the door, his eyes tired from who knows how many idiots he had to deal with.

"Hey, you two." he greeted, stepping aside so they could get in the white-walled house, closing the door behind them as they walked into the expansive living room, a smirk lighting up his face as the teens chatted amicably on their way upstairs. "What brings you lovebirds here?"

"Lovebirds?! Gah, first Sophia, now Suguha! She's two years younger than me, Al!" Ian protested, denying his claim. "But anyways, I wanted to show her my photo album, and since you're here, I'd like to spend some time with you before your next business venture."

"Glad you're still thinking of me, little bro."

Grumbling under his breath about Allan's teasing, Ian led his friend up the carpeted stairs to his room and opened the door, letting Suguha inside before he entered the bedroom himself, cursing at its somewhat messy state.

"Sorry about the mess, I should have cleaned this before bringing you over here again." he told the black-haired girl as he picked up some dirty clothes and put them in a basket.

Note to self: clean your room before bringing a girl to your place. he told himself sourly.

"It's fine, as long as it isn't this messy normally."

"I'd never be caught dead in a perpetually messy room. Anyways, where the hell is it?"

Searching through his tall, orange-exteriored shelves, he soon found what he was looking for, a victorious laugh punctuating him pulling the photo album out from another book he had gotten.

"Ah, here it is." he said, holding the album out for his friend to see, then setting it down on his blue-sheeted bed, the US Army-themed blanket pushed to the side of the bed from its owner tossing it off. On the opposite wall, self-drawn posters decorated the wall, themed after both real life and the various video games he liked, including his original Guardians from Destiny and most recently, his "fireteam," which included Jaymes' red/black Titan, Ian's blue/white Hunter, and Kazuto's black-silver Warlock standing atop a destroyed Fallen Walker tank.

"Whoa, did you draw that yourself?" Suguha asked interestedly, despite her dislike of gaming.

"Uh, yeah. I thought the picture of your house proved that I was a talented artist."

"It's currently hung up in my room right now, so that should prove that I liked it quite a lot."

"But I've never been in your room, Suguha." Ian pointed out, sitting down on his bed and patting the spot beside him. Sitting down beside him, she hummed contently as their shoulders brushed against the other's, a small blush creeping up Ian's face at their closeness.

Stop it, Becker, she's two years younger than you, for God's sake, so stop blushing like a schoolboy every time she sits next to you. he scolded himself, opening the photo album up and flipping to the page titled 2006, which began with a picture of his parents cradling the newborn twins in their arms, a young Allan beaming as he stood next to his equally jubilant parents.

"God, it's been so long since I last looked at this photo." the brown-haired boy remarked, chuckling lightly.

"Is that your sister, Ian-san?" Suguha asked, poinying to the baby wrapped in pink blankets.

"Yup. Turns out, she became quite a handful later on."

He flipped to another page titled 2010, where a young Nikki was brandishing a small blue flag victoriously as Ian tried to take it back, his teeth bared as he made a grab for the flag even as his sister yanked it away.

"Worst game of capture the flag I have ever played." he told his friend, wincing at the inevitable fall his toddler self would suffer. "On a better note, here's a good one."

He flipped to 2009, finding a picture of the three siblings building a sandcastle at the beach, each one clad in beachwear of sorts as they constructed their castle.

"That's nice." Suguha commented, a small smile on her face.

"Yup. Oh, I know what to show you next."

Flipping to a page titled 2015, he swiftly found the picture he was looking for: an eight-year old Ian standing next to a ten-year old Sophia, clad in their favorite colors and smiling brightly in the picture.

"Time to label myself a siscon here." Ian sighed when he remembered his eight-year-old idiot self's declaration when they first met. "Seriously, why the hell was I so stupid?!"

Seriously, if I ever had the chance to talk to my younger self, I'd rip that idiot a new one. he grumbled in his head.

"Never mind this being good. Of course I told you that damned story."

And suddenly, he no longer wanted to look at pictures of him and Sophia from 2015.

An Hour Later...

After about an hour of photo browsing and recalling the associated memories, the two friends had been invited downstairs to spend time with Allan, the three now sat on the couch and reviewing photos. Once again, to Ian's internal delight and his external embarrassment, he was sat next to Suguha again.

"So that's what happens when you hook a big fish completely by mistake." the eldest Becker was saying, telling a story of how he accidentily got a fish on his line during a fishing trip back in 2019.

"That was probably the funniest thing I ever saw." Ian remarked, recalling Allan's shocked expression when he realized he hooked the fish. "Then again, it wasn't too terribly funny anymore when he yanked the rod to set the hook and whacked me in the face with his elbow."

Ian felt his embarrassment worsen when Suguha giggled, the pretty sound forever ingrained into his mind a moment after it was made, and to his eternal horror, Allan noticed him blush, his expression turning distinctly mischievous.

Fuck, this isn't gonna end well.

"Anyways, here's a more recent one." the boy said before his brother could further embarrass him-- or worse, make assumptions that may or may not be accurate, flipping to the pages titled 2021 and finding a photo of Sophia and her family with the Beckers just before they left Florida, and while they were putting up happy fronts for the photo, the Sophia and Ian in the picture were holding back tears at the thought of having to be apart.

"Why do you look so sad here, Ian-san?" his teacher asked, concerned.

"Because that was taken right before Sophia and her family left Florida." he explained sadly. "At the very least it wasn't the last time I ever saw them."

"You sure acted like it was." Allan commented. "It took us a whole week to cheer you up after they left--"

"THAT'S NEED TO KNOW, JACKASS!" Ian yelled, covering his mouth before he said anything else and looking at Suguha with an expression that said "please don't ask about that."

Thankfully, she understood his silent plea and found another picture.

"Um, is that a maid costume?"

Ian paled in an instant. The photo in question was a result of a terrible dare Ian had partaken in, in which the loser was forced to wear a maid outfit if they lost, and unfortunately, Ian was the loser, and he didn't speak to Allan or Nikki (the original dare-giver) for a whole week.

"J-Just chalk it up to a dare I lost, hehe." the poor boy nervously chuckled.

"You guys are something else..."

Thankfully the Japanese girl had chosen to find another, less embarrassing picture, and her index finger landed on a photo of yet another fishing trip in which Allan was testing some of his self-developed fishing lures to see how effective they were. A smile crept up the lure designer's face as he noticed the photo in question.

"Oh, I know that one." he said, looking at the photo closer. "The lures used there were pretty successful, and Ian finally caught a bass that wasn't three inches long."

If looks could kill, then Allan would have been disintergrated by the boy's sharp gaze.

"Oy, don't be ashamed. You weren't stuck like that forever, you know." he assured.

"True. Anyways, he caught a lot of fish that day, and I only caught... what, eight?" Ian said confusedly, trying to remember the actual number of fish he caught.

"Yeah, but some of 'em were pretty big."

That was true, and the aforementioned bass he caught weighed five pounds, which was pretty big for a bass if he wasn't mistaken.

"So, it was a good trip for both of us, I suppose." Ian said, looking for another photo to view and going back to the 2019 page again.

"Okay, what noteworthy events happened here..." he asked, looking through each photograph to find something good-- and his mind did a 180 when he saw a photo of him, Sophia, and Nikki at the beach, having just got done with a game of volleyball judging how out-of-breath and sweaty they looked, and in present day Ian blushed slightly as he noted how good the redhead looked in her purple and white bikini, the slightly-translucent sarong she brought with her discarded for the volleyball match. Nikki wasn't half-bad either, clad in a two piece black and orange-lined bikini. And considering that they were less grown up back then, who knew how good they'd look now...

I reiterate, why am I surrounded by such attractive girls?

"Didn't you catch the volleyball with your face before that was taken, dude?" Allan asked, noting how in-picture Ian had the look of a guy who just took some kind of projectile to the face. At least it wasn't a bullet.

"Crap, I think I did." the younger brother groaned, facepalming. "That really sucked, because I had lost a lot of chances to talk to some of the girls there when that happened, I was so embarrassed."

"Never mind that you have two very cute girls in your life you can talk to, ask out, or maybe even date if they accept-- or who knows what else..."

The whispered statement was meant for only Ian to hear, but Suguha had unfortunately heard it too, her cheeks going red as she registered what Allan had just said, embarrassed at the prospect of dating her student. As a result she looked away from the two so they couldn't see her blush while Ian glared at his brother.

"Shut it." Ian muttered, attempting to find another photo to view, flipping to the pages titled 2022-- and finding the photograph his mother had taken right before he and Allan had left, the brothers dressed in polo shirts and jeans despite Florida's weather while Nikki wore her white and cyan sundress, her hair done up in a loose bun to complete the look. As a result of seeing the photo, a tear slipped down the teen's eye as he remembered what he left behind, a wave of regret washing over him as he realized how selfish he had been when he chose to leave. It didn't matter what he told himself, for in the end, he had chosen to leave because of both his curiosity and impatience, and despite what even his own family repeatedly told him, he felt nothing but regret, self-resentment, and guilt for his decision nowadays.

"Ian-san? Are you alright?"

"Oy, you okay, bro?"

The two concerned questions drew Ian out of his thoughts, his green eyes meeting worried blueish black and dark brown ones.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." he quickly said, hoping none of the room's occupants noticed. However, Suguha gave him a stare that suggested he wouldn't get to avoid talking about whatever was bothering him but thankfully didn't push the issue, instead flipping to another page in the album to continue looking back through the Becker family's memories.

But even as he laughed along with the others or grew embarrassed at some of the photos shown, his remorseful and self-hateful feelings never left him.

Unlike what usually happened whenever she came over, Suguha had persuaded Allan to let her bring Ian to her own house when the sun began to set, only a promise to bring him back in one piece made as she brought the teen out of the house and on the path to the Kirigaya Residence.

Of course, while the not-self-hating part of him was overjoyed at spending the night with his friend, the part of him that was tearing him apart over his decision to leave the US was still nagging at him, threatening to make him go back to Allan's place and beg him to take him back, and he was about five steps shy of doing just that-- had it not been for Suguha noticing his downcast expression as they entered her house.

"Ian-san, is something bothering you?" she asked softly, looking his way.

"Um, no, I'm just thinking about stuff, that's all."

The half-assed response, as he expected, did not fool the sharp-sensed girl, and she regarded him with a sharp look.

"What kind of stuff?" she asked, more insistently this time.

"Uh... how do I word this...?"

"You know what? Let's go to my room, then we'll talk, but don't think you can avoid confrontation, mister."

"Right..."

The trip to Suguha's room was remarkably short, and Ian was feeling rather anxious about it-- or more accurately, the impending confrontation about his mopey behavior back at Allan's house.

After going up the stairs at a quick pace, the two arrived at a door that the brown-haired teen had seen multiple times, but had never opened, and Suguha opened the door with a turn of the doorknob and led him in.

It was sort of bare compared to Kazuto's room, as it was lacking any and all technology. It had a single curtain blocking off the light coming in through the window, a white-sheeted bed in the bottom-left corner and a desk in the top-right corner that held a picture of the Kirigaya siblings when they were younger. As he finished looking around his eyes landed on his very own picture of the Kirigaya Residence, which was framed and hung proudly on the wall next to her bed.

Kinda bare, but considering who Suguha is, it's to be expected.

"Okay, now that we're alone..." the kendoist in question started, shutting the door behind her, "...you're going to tell me what's bothering you. Without lying about it."

Fuck.

Quickly attempting to find a good course of action to avoid confrontation, he failed to do so and decided on the only course of action available: the truth.

"Alright then..." he started, attempting to find out how to word it best. "I uh..."

Thankfully, Suguha managed to correctly guess what was bothering him, saving him the need to say it himself.

"Wait, you're regretting leaving home, aren't you?"

Without anything to say, he simply settled for a slow, shameful nod.

"Why?"

Sighing, he once again attemped to find a better way to phrase his reply, but when he failed again, he simply decided to just confide in her.

"Well, it's simple." he said, sighing again. "I left my family behind. Even though they repeatedly told me they didn't mind if I went with Al, I just can't help but feel that I abandoned them... Do you know what the worst part of it was, Suguha?" he asked shamefully, continuing when she shook her head, "It was that I was one who persuaded Al to take me here, all because I couldn't wait a couple years to beold enough. God, I made Nikki cry so much that day, too, and my parents can't be too impressed with me, either... so yeah, I really am a piece of shit."

As his self-hate steadily consumed his very being and he attempted to self-deprecate himself even more, a single lithe digit placed itself on his lips and he was promptly hushed.

"Ian-san, do you make sure to contact them at all?" the younger Kirigaya asked, removing her finger from his lips to let him speak.

"Yeah, once every week to see how they're holding and to tell them of my experiences..." he uneasily replied.

"Then you haven't truly abandoned them. The fact that you still talk to them shows that even though you moved away from them, you haven't truly left them behind. Now, I will not stand to hear my kouhai deprecate himself under any circumstance. You are a wonderful person, Ian-san, and nothing will change that, you hear me?" she told him firmly, poking him in the chest to emphasize her statement. "Who else could get my brother to talk to me again? Who else went out of his way to be the best friend I have ever had?"

"As far as I know, nobody..." he replied to her last statement, rubbing the back of his head nervously as he noted the good he had achieved in Japan.

"See what I mean? It might not seem like it, but you're far from being a bad person. In fact, I don't think I've ever really known anyone outside of Onii-san as friendly as you."

"Really...?"

There was no way she was serious, he was sure of it, so it naturally came as a surprise when the black-haired girl nodded at him and cupped his cheek, the warm feeling making him blush a little.

"Yup." Suguha simply said, unaware that instead of self-hatred, Ian was now faintly feeling butterflies fluttering in his stomach for reasons unknown to him. "So that's why you can't be so hateful towards yourself, kay?"

Taking in a deep breath and looking into her eyes, he soon resolved not to let his regrets get the better of him, no matter how hard it seemed, and that he should live life to the fullest any chance he got.

"I understand." the brown-haired teen exhaled, placing his hand on the one sat on his cheek. "Thank you for that."

Although she might need to hit you to make it sink in... a part of his brain humorously told him in response.

"You're welcome." the black-haired girl told him in response, removing her hand. "And now that you aren't insulting yourself, is there anything you want to do?"

"Uh... sure."

As she began to think of suggestions for what they could do, Ian decided to review every interaction he and his teacher had throughout the last few days, no, the last month or two, and after carefully picking out every time he felt odd (as in butterflies in his stomach, blushing just because of close contact, etc.) around her, he finally came to a realization: he was, despite his attempts to avoid it, madly in love with Suguha Kirigaya, his very first friend other than Sophia Autumn.

Oh, no.

Eh, this isn't my best chapter, you know, but considering that it's almost been two years since I started my FFN profile and I haven't even finished a story, I was trying to get something done for a story other than Recollection (although I'm actually liking it a bit more, especially after editing the older chapter to be more consistent and make more sense.)

Anyways, I figured that Ian would naturally have regrets about leaving the US, and while they didn't pop up at first, they festered up in his mind, and all it took was a reminder of his departure for them to blow up full-force. Hence his self-hate (which will be a big flaw of his in the Lone Wolf Saga). In any case, like AK-47's trauma in the Recollection, Ian's regret and self-hate don't expiree entirely after talking to someone about it, but those feelings have been cleared up a bit and the two individuals in question are now atempting to cope with their issues more properly.

As for the LWS' future, I'm not sure who I want Ian to end up with, but seeing as he sister-zoned Sophia and Nikki's his real sister, right now, Suguha's the only girl he considers a possible love interest (even though he uses their age difference as an excuse not to pursue such a possible romance.) Also, I don't want any Ian/whoever I want to ship him with to manifest in SAO's time, but instead I want it to be in either the end of Origin Story with Suguha or post-SAO, with a female character who isn't in Kazuto or Jaymes' harems.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll either see you in FNG I on GFL:R or Origin Story Chapter Twenty-Three.