Leafa
What I saw from the two Spriggans was half amazing, half terrifying.
But I'll lean more towards amazing… I thought, as the rest of the salamanders growled and charged forward.
"Oh, come on, don't be stupid…" Archer muttered in front of me.
"Look out!" I yelled at him, as the salamander got closer, but he didn't move at all, only holding the crappy bow I gave him and the one arrow he had left.
The point of the weapon was inches from his chest, when Archer stepped to the side and used the bow to knock the salamander's weapon away. A loud clang rang through the air, as while flying, the salamander stumbled before coming back for another attack. Archer came back up, still holding the arrow in one hand against the bow. He watched the salamander get in close, and side stepped at the last minute, but I looked closely and saw the salamander's weapon had gone through the bow, between the bow itself and the string. The bow smashed into the salamander's chest and Archer twisted it.
"ARGHHHH!" The salamander yelled at his twisted arm, before Archer pulled the bow off him and smacked him in the head with it.
"I told you not to be stupid, you didn't listen," Archer said, and with the speed of a professional he loaded the bow and let the arrow loose into the chink of the salamander's armor, defeating him as he burst into flames.
"Wow… I didn't know you could use a bow like that…" I muttered, as Archer turned with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Hehe, it's like I said, never underestimate an archer," He said, even winking at me, which I was ashamed to admit had a profound effect on the thumping in my chest.
He spun back around to his spikey haired friend. "Hey, you finished yet? You seem kinda rusty, need some-."
Spikey hair did not need any help.
I looked and saw two more salamanders facing down the other Spriggan and almost went to move myself, when Archer held out his arm and stopped me.
"Don't worry he's fine, let him go, trust me he has a lot of pent-up emotions to get out," He said, turning and smiling at me, before holding the bow back out. "Here you go, thanks for letting me use it. Promise I'll get you the arrows back eventually."
"Um… thank… you," I said, taking the bow back into her inventory.
That was when I heard a scream and looked to see spikey hair in action again. He dashed forward and under the weapon of one salamander and swung upwards. My jaw dropped as his newb low level sword cut straight through the salamander and with the most incredible reaction speed I had ever seen, parried one strike, spun around the last salamander and stabbed him through the back.
Now four flames laid burning where four high skill enemies had been defeated by two seemingly brand-new players.
Archer scoffed but smiled. "Show off…"
Spikey hair smirked and looked up to the salamander commander. "And how about you? Feel like fighting?"
The salamander commander, Kagemune he had been named shook his head right away, floating a good distance above the ground.
"No thanks pals, my magic skill is gonna reach 900 soon, I'd rather not take a death penalty right now," He said honestly, looking down at the flames, then over to Archer next to her. "You, never seen anyone use a bow like that before, got some prior experience?"
Archer chuckled with his arms crossed. "You could say that yeah, I dabbled a bit."
Kagemune shook his head. "Insane… so like I said, I think I'll pass on fighting you both, I know when I'm outmatched."
Spikey hair smirked. "At least you're honest about it," he said, before turning to me. "And what about you miss?"
I could only stammer, surprised to be addressed like that, but I realized quickly what spikey hair was asking. She re-composed herself from the shock and glared at the salamander.
"I'll pass on it too," I said reluctantly, my HP and mana bars were too low. "But next time you're going down you understand?!"
Kagemune chuckled ironically. "Oh, is that so? Well, I guess I'll bring more friends next time then."
I growled and gritted her teeth as the man flew away, only for Archer next to her to laugh.
"Ha, we sure scared the piss outta him didn't we Kirito?" He said, walking over to the spikey-haired Spriggan she now had a name for. "I'll apologize for calling you rusty now."
"You better," Spikey hair-Kirito-said. "And you haven't skipped a beat either."
The two did a handshake… and it struck a familiar cord in my brain. Where had I seen that before? Still, with Archer a few steps away from her now, my hand cautiously went back to my sword. The two Spriggan may have saved me, and I didn't know if I could beat what I'd had seen… but I couldn't take any chances.
Just… who are these two?
INNOCENCE OP PLAYS
SAO, AKIRA'S ARROWS: FAIRY DANCE ARC
EPISODE 3: SIBLINGS
Akira
"Oh man, that felt good," I said with a roll of both my arms. "I haven't shot like that in weeks! I didn't think it would be this good to be back."
Kirito scoffed at me. "You're living up to your name Archer."
I could detect the sarcasm in his voice. "Jerk, stop making fun of my name."
"It's because it's stupid, it's too simple," He tried to explain.
I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah and Kirito is such a clever name, it's just a combo of-."
"Hey! Are you two finished yet?!" The female player we'd helped yelled, and I turned around to not surprisingly see her with her sword halfway drawn, in a fighting stance.
I turned and finally took my first good look at the blonde. She had an extremely pretty avatar, tall with a long blonde ponytail and bright green eyes, I assumed she was a sylph as I tried to remember the race selection screen. Her green and white outfit fell out in a skirt design at her feet, but I could see stockings under her paler legs. The katana in her hands was sharp and she took a stance like an experienced fighter, she may have been good to survive an attack from a group of hostile players… but did she really think she'd take me and Kirito in her state?
I had to at least applaud her courage.
Stop thinking so cockily! This may not be SAO, but you still need to be careful, I told myself sternly in my head, before another thought came. And stop looking at her chest you perv!
My face got hot for a second as I did exactly what my brain commanded and stopped looking at her rather large chest. I was still a boy of course, but I liked to think I was better then that.
Kirito looked at me, and then back to the girl, he-like me- didn't seem fazed by her aggressive posture.
Instead, he looked at the tiny flames from the enemies we'd beat. "Hey, so what's up with those flames now-."
"Shhh!" She hissed back at us urgently. "They're remain lights player you killed can still hear you, so be quiet!"
I nodded in understanding as I stepped up next to Kirito, I could tell he was still feeling a huge rush. The same feeling ran through my chest, it was racing, I felt like in that moment I could punch through a wall. Before SAO, I hadn't really played any VRMMOS, just normal console MMORPGS and other various games, I'd player a VR game with Kya to get ready for SAO, but never anything like what I had to do in Aincrad or ALO now.
So, this had been the first time I really fought in a VRMMO without the lingering threat of death hanging over my head. Every right in SAO felt painstakingly long, your thoughts always had to be on your HP bar, you had to conserve potions and could not take risks at all. Some of the moves I'd pulled in that fight just then, were something I never would have dreamed of doing in SAO, I would have been unwilling to risk my HP and life to do it, I only pulled out crazier moves when the stakes were really high, or to save my friends.
This was the first game I could fight without reservation, and it felt great. Of course I knew our goal was to get to this World Tree and save Asuna, but I could tell Kirito was thinking the same as me. That last fight had been fun, and the feeling of being powerful again, being back in VR, it put us both momentarily over the moon.
After a few more seconds of festering, the flames of the defeated died out, and the girl sighed, tossing her long blonde ponytail back behind her, her hand going to her katan like sword again.
"Okay… now we can all talk," She said. "So… what do the two of you want? You want me to thank you, run away?" She pulled the katana from its sheath. "Or do you wanna fight?"
I held up my hands laughing nervously, the less fighting we did the faster we could get to the World Tree. Also, this girl happened to be the one person we'd met so far, and she did owe us one. Back in SAO favors were traded like currency, if you did something for someone, they owed you in the future. Of course, this wasn't SAO, but old habits died hard for me.
"Ha, not looking for trouble at all blondie, we just-."
"Don't call me blondie!" She yelled, a bit red face.
I winced. "Sorry, you see my friend and I-."
"Well, if we breakdown what just happened, it's one of those knight in shining armor saves the princess moments," Kirito said, still seemingly with his head in the clouds from the fight.
"Huh?" "Huh?" The girl and I both said at the same time, glaring at him.
He nodded convinced and put his sword back. "You could… burst into tears and throw your arms around me? Or Ak…Archer here, he's real lonely."
At the same exact time again, the girl and I both got red faced and yelled.
"Shut up, I know where you sleep jackass!"
"Oh, piss off loser!" The girl shouted after me.
Kirito-being Kirito- found the entire thing hilarious at started laughing. Despite how incredibly annoyed I was with him, I couldn't suppress how happy I was to hear him laugh. I hadn't heard him laugh like that since before we woke up from SAO.
Still, it didn't stop me from reeling my fist back and punching him in the arm, sending onto the ground on his back. I had noticed how angry the girl started looking, and I couldn't blame her, her katana seemed awfully sharp at that moment so I beat her to the punch.
"Oww…" Kirito mumbled from the ground.
I rolled my eyes. "Stop being a sleez!" I turned to the girl and nervously rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry about him, he's a good guy really, just a bit of a goof."
"Ye…yeah, sorry," Kirito said with a groan as he stood up. "Probably deserved that."
"You did!" "You did!" The girl and I managed to say at the same time again.
After that the girl looked over at me, and I saw her trying to hide a smile that was coming to her face. I wouldn't lie, it had amused me as well, but still, I could tell she was trying to keep her angry, fierce warrior look up, it was her best bet in this situation.
"I… suppose it's fine, so, who are you both anyway?" She asked, her sword dipping slightly.
I sighed in relief, she didn't seem as annoyed now. Kirito gave me a look while rubbing his shoulder that clearly said, you do the talking.
Smiling I nodded at her. "Well, I'm Archer, as you probably saw, I'm a… well an archer. This is-."
"Ow… Big Brother that hurt!" The tiny voice said from Kirito's pocket. "If you're going to hit Daddy, at least let me leave his pocket first!"
Kirito's eyes widened. "No! Watch it, stay out of sight!"
Yui's tiny head popped out of Kirito's pocket and floated up to glare at me with her small cheeks puffed out. It painfully reminded me of Aki.
I winced. "Ha… sorry Yui, I forgot you were in there, tell your dad not to be so much of a sleez."
"Wait… Daddy?! Big Brother?!" The girl said, and I turned to see her curiously taking a step forward after Kirito had grabbed hold of Yui from the air. Her eyes widened when she got closer to both of us and saw her. "Woah… is that one of those private pixies?"
Kirito laughed nervously. "Um… sort of, I guess ha…"
"She's total normal!" I interjected, but feeling the pressure of her questioning look.
I couldn't blame her, I'd be just as curious and a bit cautious under her circumstances.
"Mhm…." She said, clearly not believing us. "And how about you tell me what two Spriggans like you both doing wandering around here?"
"Um… we… got lost?" Kirito said.
I laughed nervously and stepped in front of him, he was doing horribly.
"Ha, yeah he's right, we both have a horrible sense of direction," I told her, trying to smile and not seem too nervous.
For a minute, she circled us still. I could tell she was trying to look for any signs of deceit. I got nervous. Back in SAO, as ashamed as I was to admit it, I could lie to someone's face or persuade NPCs no problem. After about a year or so in the game, it really had become like real life.
I had to keep reminding myself, that this world I was in now wasn't Aincrad, it wasn't life or death. We were there for a purpose yes, but ALO wasn't Aincrad.
After coming to a stop in front of us, the girl sighed and finally, blessedly the angry look turned to an amused one, and she started laughing, a cute smile coming to her face.
"Ha…Hahaha! How could you both get that lost! Spriggan territory is way to the east, god you're both weird!" She said, finally sliding her sword away before that smile turned to us again. "Anyway, thank you both for saving me. I guess I should introduce myself, my names Leafa, it's nice to meet you both."
I finally managed to breath, as Kirito spoke first.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Kirito," He said with a smile, holding Yui up in his palms. "And this, is Yui."
"Hello!" Yui said cheerfully, before turning her tiny smile to me. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself Big Brother?"
What Yui didn't realize is I was trying to get my heart rate back to normal. Between the exhilaration of being back in VR, my body readjusting to my game senses again, finally getting into a fight and meeting a cute girl, I needed a second to compose myself.
"Ha… again, it's nice to meet you Leafa, like I said, my names A…Archer," I said, almost saying my real name like I'd been so used to.
My hand was stretched out and Leafa smiled, before a giggle escaped her while she shook it.
"Ha, what's wrong, did you forget your name?"
"You… could say that," I said, shaking her hand but smiling. "In the last game I played, I named my character with my real life name and it got stuck like that, so this is the first time I'm calling myself something else."
Leafa scoffed amusingly. "From what I saw, you seem like a veteran in this kind of game, both of you!"
That brought a nervous laugh out of me. "Ha… you could say that we are."
Leafa smiled at me and then looked between us. "Okay then, Archer, Kirito, do either of you have any plans for tonight? I could buy you both a drink as thanks for helping me."
That got my brain moving away from the looks of the girl in front of me, and refocused it on the goal we'd dived into the game for. Kirito's brain was working even faster then mine however, because with a smile still he answered for us both.
"Drinks sound great!" He said, Yui having floated over to his shoulder. "And if you don't mind, we'd love to pick your brain about some stuff."
Leafa looked confused for a moment. "Like… what kind of stuff?"
I answered for Kirito, catching onto where he was going. "Just more stuff about the world and the game if you could. And… that big tree over there in particular."
The sprawling expanse of the world tree could be seen in the distance. It sprouted out over the woods, and a sinking feeling in my stomach told me we needed to be there.
"You mean the World Tree?" Leafa said, her smile returning. "Yeah sure, I may not look like it but I do know a lot about this game."
"Good thing we ran into a pro like you then," I said, offering her another smile. "We really appreciate your help, Leafa."
After I looked at her again I saw her go to speak but stutter for a minute. She seemed to notice I noticed and quickly shook it off, probably hoping I hadn't noticed.
"You're welcome, it's the least I can do," She said. "So, there's a neutral village north of here. It's a bit out of the way but we can fly there."
"F…fly… right," I said, my stomach dropping. Leafa seemed to notice, but thankfully Kirito came to my rescue.
"That sounds good, but what about Swilvane? Isn't that the closest town to here?" My friend asked.
Leafa scoffed. "You both really don't know anything about this game, do you? Swilvane is Sylph territory."
"Um… so?" Kirito said.
Leafa shook her head. "You're both Spriggans, in Sylph territory they can attack you, but you can't attack them."
I managed to regain my composure. "I see, so the game had a territory system like that huh? Oh well, so long as we don't do anything stupid… Kirito."
"Hey!" He complained, making Leafa laugh.
I smiled at making her laugh. "So long as we don't provoke anyone, we'll be fine. Besides, you'll be there Ms. Leafa, maybe you'll save us this time."
Leafa laughed, seeming a bit sheepish but held up her hands. "Ha, just call me Leafa. If you insist, I'll take you, you're right maybe the princes will be the ones who need saving this time."
"Now that's a manga I'd read," I said with a smile.
Leafa giggled, and I felt Kirito elbow me in the gut. I turned around to see an insufferable look on his face. Before I could punch it off him, Leafa got our attention again.
"Alright! Let's get flying," She said, as beautiful green translucent wings appeared on her back.
That took all the excitement out of me.
Next to me, Kirito right away pulled up his wings, and looked wide eyed at Leafa. "Woah, you mean you can fly without using the controller?"
Leafa turned and looked at him. "Of course, can't the two of you?"
"We just learned how to use this thing, so we're still figuring out the kinks," Kirito said, and that was when Leafa looked at me as I stood frozen.
She must have remembered Kirito and I'd unceremonious landing before the fight. I didn't feel any shame. It had been horrifying, just like the prospect of leaving the ground now.
"Okay, here let me show you, there's a trick to doing it," She said, walking over to us. "Now, turn around, both of you but don't access your controller."
Kirito did. I did not.
Leafa looked at me oddly, but went to Kirito's back. "Okay, now… feel where I'm touching right here? Now pretend like there's virtual bones and muscles and they spread out through your wings."
Kirito nodded with determination on his face.
Meanwhile I wanted to throw up.
Please…forgive me Asuna, I pleaded, as I felt the wings on my back activate, but they didn't move. I wasn't about to, my hope was they'd just take off and I could run towards the town.
Within a few seconds, Kirito's wings were moving like a birds, flapping furiously as he tried to get them to move faster. Like normal, Kirito was a fast learned, soon his wings were moving quick, and Leafa looked extremely satisfied with her teaching skills.
"Alright, awesome! Now just try doing that same motion only harder," She said, before she turned to me, and for the first time I wasn't distracted by her pretty face or smile. "Now, why don't we… Archer? Are you ok-."
"Ha… haha yes! Look!" Kirito yelled next to me before she could finish, and already, I saw him floating above the ground again, hovering back and forth over my head. "This is awesome! Thanks Leafa, haha now we… oh god, Ak- Archer!"
"So… um… Leafa, which was is Swilvane?" I asked her.
She looked at me confused. "Um… it's north of here, bright as can be you can't miss it, why do you ask-."
"Okay cool, I'll run I'll meet you there," I said, going to turn around.
Leafa's hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder. "What, are you crazy? Anyone who see's a Spriggan this far from their territory will chase you down without a second thought. Besides, we can get there a few minutes flying, it'd take over an hour to run there."
"That's fine, I run fast."
"But still that'd take you near an hour!"
"I run really fast I promise."
"God dammit Archer come on!" Kirito shouted from above me, rolling his eyes and looking at Leafa. "He's scared of flying."
Leafa scoffed, looking at me. "Oh come on, he's joking right-."
"Oh no, he's right, I'm absolutely terrified, I'll run."
"Archer!" Kirito yelled again.
"You can do it Big Brother!" Yui yelled, floating down next to my head.
I shook my head. "Yui I appreciate the vote of confidence, and you may be an AI, but you are wrong."
"For gods sake…" Kirito mumbled, before sighing. "Come on! We need to-."
"Just take it easy at first, hover above the ground," Leafa said, in a much calmer, less urgent tone then Kirito did.
She walked in front of me, and held out a hand. "Here, I'll walk you through it, flying is really amazing, haven't you ever wanted to feel completely free? Free of all your problems in the real world? That's why I love flying so much."
My mouth went dry. Free… of all my problems huh…? That does sound nice….
Leafa looked at her hand, her bright green eyes shining at me in the night. "Come on, you can do it like Yui said, I'll help you."
"I… I… ugh… fine," I said, feeling defeated and reaching to grab her hand.
She smiled and spun me around until my back was facing her. I pondered her words as I felt her cold hand touch the center of my back. Feeling completely free? It was true, I wanted to feel free from the world, even if it was only for a few seconds. Still… it didn't stop me from shaking when she touched my back.
"Okay, like I told Kirito, pretend there are muscles here and activate them," She instructed, keeping her calm voice.
"Go on Big Brother!" Yui said encouragingly from in front of me.
I looked up and saw Kirito smiling before I sighed and did what Leafa said. Like Kirito, it didn't take long before I could feel the wings moving, hear them flapping and see the bright sparkling dust they emitted. After I did I heard Leafa from behind me again.
"Okay, awesome! Now, how's that feel? If you feel it, go just bit harder," She said, sounding as excited as I was starting to feel.
I looked up at the big sky as I exerted more pressure on the wings. They flapped more, and the anticipation in my went up… maybe this really wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Okay… alright, I think I got it!" I said, looking up and seeing the tree looming over us all, and thinking about my best-friend trapped in there.
"That's great! Just a little more!" Leafa said, even more excited, as if she was trying not to laugh.
Don't worry Asuna, we'll get you out! We're going to save-.
"Now…. GO!"
Leafa's hand shove my back, hard, and all my confidence.
"AHHHHHHHHH NO NO NO NO NO I TAKE IT BACK I'LL RUN I'LL RUN GET ME DOWN!"
My body shot upwards like a cannon, I smashed through the tree's breaking branches and soaring up into the air. In the night sky my stomach churned and I saw an alert pop up on my screen.
HEART RATE CRITICAL
But that message didn't stop me from screaming.
"ARGHHHHHH KIRITO LEAFA YUI, SOMEBODY GET ME DOOOOOOWWWWNNNNN!"
I flapped around like a landed fish, doing figure eights, spinning every which was as my body was flung around the air like a sack of potatoes, absolutely no semblance of control whatsoever.
"KIRITOOOOOOO LEAFA YUI HOW DO I MAKE IT STOP, SOMEBODY MAKE IT STOP!"
In the midst of my blood curdling scream I heard more people burst through the tops of the trees.
"Archer!" "Archer!" "Big Brother!"
I though the three of them, three people who I considered friends, one being such a good friend I quite literally lived with him and survived a death game with, to help me in some way.
Of course they didn't though, because I only heard them all laughing their heads.
"OH COME ON! STOP LAUGHING AT MEEEEEEE!"
It was after that I went hurdling towards another tree.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Leafa
"Bahaha… and then and then you started flailing everywhere!" Kirito laughed as the three of us sat at the table. Kirito was laughing with his head on the table. "Help me! Help me! You wouldn't stop Hahahaha!"
Archer glared at his friend over his mug, muttering. "I only sleep down the hall from you jerk, better watch yourself…. Me and your sister are gonna get you for this."
I couldn't stop myself from laughing either at Archer sitting next to Kirito across from me. It was a giggle, as I didn't want to embarrass him more, but who wouldn't laugh? After we'd gotten him under control Kirito and I had to help fly him to Swilvane, that was until Kirito didn't know how to land, so the two of them both smashed into the largest tower in the city. I'd been able to heal them quick enough as Yui and me both laughed at them.
After that Recon completely embarrassed me in front of them both, which made me have to introduce him to them, and knowing what I did about Recon I was sure he was already jealous, and would hound me about it at school tomorrow. Still, he was the closest friend I had in this game, with him having shown me the ropes himself. I was more powerful then him now, but I owed the guy a lot.
Still, I didn't care if he was jealous or not. Archer had a small virtual expresso mustache, which I found rather charming, he was clearly embarrassed and me looking at him like I did probably didn't help.
Idiot! Stop staring, you're going to come off weird, I shouted at myself in my head. He was just an avatar after all, I had no idea who him or Kirito even were really.
Still… I could tell their laughs were genuine, their personalities infectious, and it'd been fun in the hour or so I'd spent playing with them. The least I could do after they saved me as well was help give them information.
But… why do I keep looking at Archer's eyes so much? It's odd… What was it about them?
I shook the thoughts from my head and focused, after all our drinks arrived, Kirito finally stopped laughing, while Yui say munching on an extremely large cracker on the table. The pixie was probably the most adorable thing Leafa had ever seen.
"Ha… ha… oh man, I'm sorry A… Archer," Kirito said, I realized what that was. He-like Archer had said-was probably used to calling Archer his real name, the two were clearly close, I could tell that much.
"You better be… I'll get you back for not helping me, just you wait, watch above your door when you log out," Archer said, sipping the expresso he ordered again. I found that a bit off, who orders coffee at a bar, the way he drank it reminded me of watching Akira devouring at least two cups of coffee before he went on his morning runs.
"So, the two of you are friends in real life then? It sounds like you live together," I asked, picking up the drink I'd ordered.
Archer was still embarrassed, so Kirito answered. "Ha, we do yeah. He just moved in with me recently, we're basically like brothers."
"Yeah, brothers always let brothers free fall through the air while they're screaming," Archer mumbled, putting down his now empty cup.
Jeez… Akira may be the second biggest coffee addict I know now, I thought, but smiling still. I smiled because it was subtle, but I could see how Archer tried to suppress his smile at Kirito calling them 'basically brothers'.
"Well, you two certainly act like it, you seem really close," I told them. I thought about telling them about Kazuto and Akira, the pair of them reminded me of the two in certain ways, but were much different in others. In the end I decided against it, you didn't ask about the real world, it was an unwritten rule. They had only told me they lived together because it was so obvious.
After Kirito had finished laughing and Archer finished glaring, Kirito was the first to turn to me, now with the two of them and the tiny pixie looking at me I suddenly felt self-conscious.
Kirito nodded. "I'd like to think we are, so speaking of close… is that Recon guy your boyfriend?"
"Yeah! Are the two of you in love?!" Yui asked excitedly from behind her big cracker.
I choked. "What?! No! We're not in love or anything, we're just in the same party is all!"
Kirito smirked. "I don't know from where I was standing you both seemed pretty tight…."
"Oh whatever! I know him in real life," I pleaded, not wanting either of them to get the wrong idea. "We go to the same school and we're classmates that's all!"
"Mhm… sureee…" Kirito said, closing his eyes and leaning on his hands. "I'm sure that's all-."
"Kirito… stop teasing her," Archer said, as I realized he had ordered another expresso, that's why he had been quiet, he shook his head but smiled. "Honestly, you've talked more today then the last month combined."
Kirito chuckled and let out a relaxing sigh. "Just good to be back is all…"
I wonder what he means by that… I thought, before looking at Archer with a thankful look, to which in response he winked at me.
I recomposed myself, which was hard after he winked at me like he did, and picked up the drink I had ordered.
"Anyway," I said, holding up the cup. "Bottoms up! Thank you both again for saving me!"
"Cheers!" Kirito said, holding up his.
Archer chuckled. "Coffee is the way to my heart Leafa that's for sure."
I nearly choked again. Was he being serious? It was clear that he was joking… right?
Kirito was first to speak after the toast. "So… those guys who attacked you were pretty rough. Are gangs of PK-ers really that common?"
"Yeah…" Archer said, suddenly tensing up. "I can't stand seeing stuff like that."
That was odd, it was a game right? He had to expect players going around fighting to kill each other, why wouldn't they in a game like this?
I shrugged. "Well, the Salamander and Sylph races never got along, but those guys were organized, which has never been the case. It's a bit odd but if you ask me, they're gearing up to try and tackle the World Tree."
At the mention of the World Tree, Kirito leaned forward, Archer keeping an eye on him. "Actually, Archer and I were hoping you could tell us about the World Tree!"
His tone was harder then before, more desperate, different from the boy who'd been teasing me. I looked at Archer keeping an eye on his friend still, a sad look coming to his face as well.
"Yeah… you both mentioned that before," I told them. "Why do you need to know?"
"I need to get to the top, as soon as I can," Kirito said, his voice even harder now.
I realized for the first time, he hadn't said we as in him and Archer. Archer simply sat back, sipping now on his expresso and taking in the information.
I looked back to Kirito. "Well, join the club on that one. Everyone wants to get to the top, you could say that's the grand quest of Alfheim Online."
"Grand Quest? I didn't think MMOs really had that," Archer commented.
"Yeah, what do you mean?!" Kirito asked right away.
"Well, you know how you're limited to how high you can fly? None of the races can fly continuously for more then ten minutes at a time," I explained, turning and leaning on the table. "But at the top of the World Tree is the floating city, where Oberon the Fairy King is, and the first race to reach him, will be reborn into an advanced species of fairy known as Alfs, and they can fly around for however long they want!"
Arche shuddered despite my excitement. "I think I'll pass on that, ten minutes at a time is plenty for me…"
"Stop being a baby," Kirito teased his friend, before looking back to me. "So… how do you get to the top of the World Tree?"
I went on with my knowledge. "At the base of the city is a big dome, that's the gateway to the floating city. But after that, you need to get past the NPCs that guard it and they're super powerful."
Kirito deflated at my words. "So… they're really that powerful you'd need a whole race huh?"
"And it makes sense now why all the races fight," Archer said, as we all turned to him as he sat with an empty coffee cup and his arms crossed. "If only one race can be turned into Alfs, why bother to try and work with another race?"
"Spot on, that's why it's taking so long," I told him, impressed with his deduction. "The game's been out over a year and still nobody's gotten past them."
Archer chewed at his lip, and finally I saw him as distraught looking at Kirito was getting. I could tell his brain was working fast at the possibilities, but it was Kirito who looked even more desperate now.
"Well… maybe they've all missed a certain quest, something to make it easier," He said, before his eyes lit up and he looked at us. "Or maybe…. What you said may be true Archer, why would the races work together but… maybe in the end it needs two races to clear it, and that's why nobody has been able."
Archer scoffed. "That's some smart thinking Kirito."
I smirked. "You've got good instincts. Everyone now thinks it's a missing quest, so they're all looking for it. It's because what Archer said is right, no two races are going to work together if only one gets the reward."
"And I can't really blame them, why put in all that effort, all the resources, only to not get the reward for the quest at the end," Archer said again. "We'll have to find another strategy."
I almost laughed. Was he serious? To me, I hadn't thought about the World Tree since the start of the game. I had no idea if Sakuya had any plans for it, if she did I'd participate, flying being my favorite escape from everything on the other side… but why did these two seem so impatient?
"But from what Leafa said, it seems impossible, what's even the point of having the quest there if nobody can beat it?!" Kirito said, sounding agitated.
I shrugged. "Won't get any arguments from me. Flying is pretty addictive though, unless you're Archer over here apparently."
Yui giggled on the table, and Archer winced. "That's a low blow for someone you've known for an hour Leafa, but I won't say you're wrong."
I laughed at that. "Ha, well you have to think, even if it takes months, years, it's still-."
"But we can't wait around that long dammit!" Kirito said, pounding his fist on the table so loud a few other people in the bar looked over.
My body froze, as I looked and saw the boy who'd been joking and teasing his friend only an hour earlier, with hurt, narrowed eyes. It was as if a fire had been lit inside of them and it was burning through the back of his skull. I almost jumped, and finally looked to Archer, who while looking just as upset over the news, shook his head and nudged Kirito with his elbow.
"Hey… just take a deep breath alright?" Archer said, obviously trying to hold his annoyance back as well, and doing a good job of it, his voice calm and soothing. "We'll figure something out I promise."
"Daddy…. Big Brother's right," Yui said, a sad look on her tiny face as she flew up to Kirito's shoulder.
He…he's keeping calm for his friends sake… sounds like someone I know, I thought, looking at Archer, and another pair or green eyes suddenly came into my mind. Not wanting my avatar to blush I quickly stopped myself as Kirito sighed.
"I… I'm sorry," Kirito said quietly. "It's just… Archer and I need to get to the top of the World Tree, as soon as possible."
"He's right…" Archer said, looking and meeting my eyes. "We need to get there within the next few days at the least. It's really important."
"Okay…" I said, trying to study them both. "But, what's the rush?"
"We… we've both been looking for some," Kirito said in a strained voice. "For a while now."
"….What?" I asked them both, a familiar feeling sinking into my stomach. "What do you mean?"
Archer leaned forward and shook his head. "No offense but well… it… it's a long story, hard to explain."
His eyes finally fell like Kirito's, and it was as if I'd been shot in the heart. Those sad, sad… dark eyes that were just so green a minute ago… almost seemed black now. Next to him, Kirito was almost slumped back, his eyes narrowed as he seemed to be close to shaking. The two boys in front of me that had been laughing, teasing each other and me, who'd just seemed unstoppable an hour ago… were breaking down in front of me.
And it was a painful reminder, a horribly painful reminder of the real world that I'd come to this virtual one to escape. I'd caught my brother, and Akira both with looks like this on their face plenty of times.
Archer was the first to recover. He sighed, and forced a smile back on, his eyes coming alive again. He slapped a hand onto Kirito's shoulder, as Yui floated up to her Big Brother's shoulder. Kirito looked up at Archer, and Archer smiled at him.
"Well, we won't accomplish anything here," He told his friend.
"Big Brother's right Daddy!" Yui said encouragingly.
Kirito sighed, and finally smiled as well, looking to me now. "You're right… thank you Leafa, so much. All your information is going to be a huge help."
"He's right," Archer said, his voice noticeably brighter then seconds ago, it made me look up at him, he smiled massively down at me. "Sorry to have dumped all this on you. We appreciate it, and the coffee! It was nice meeting you!"
I was ashamed I couldn't answer him right away. My head was down, as the look of the two boys I'd just met were plastered in my mind, side by side with the looks of the two boys I lived with. That anguish and sorrow… it was just as painful to look at in both worlds.
Perhaps that's why my brother was so at home in VR, because in the end… could it really be just like the real world?
Their footsteps made me look up. I saw Archer walking past me, and without thinking I reached out and grabbed onto his wrist.
"Are… the two of you going to the World Tree right now?!" I said, nervousness filling my voice.
Archer looked down at me, a soft smile coming to his face as Kirito joined him. "Yeah… we'll have to see for ourselves, we'll come up with a plan from there."
"Don't worry," Kirito assured me, fake smiling as well. "The two of us will come up with something."
"But… but just the two of you?! That's crazy!" I told them, as Kirito had turned to leave again, but Archer stayed looking at me. That didn't stop me from going on. "It's really far away, and you'll have to fight a bunch of monsters! You're both strong but..."
"Hey, don't worry about us, like Kirito said, we always figure things out," Archer said, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head, his wrist slipping from my hand. "It's extremely on the fly sometimes, but we always do, that's for sure."
He gave me one last smile… before he walked towards the door with Kirito, as i was left standing with my hands on the table, my face fallen.
Can… I really not help anyone in either world? I can't help Kazuto or Akira and… and now them? What… what could I-.
Words left my mouth, before I could think them through… but once I said them, I felt the confidence grow in me.
"Hey! Wait!" I said, just as Kirito reached for the door. "If you both want, I can take you there!"
It was quiet for a minute, as I ran over what I'd just said in my mind… and when I did, I found myself wanting to help.
I may not have been able to help Kazuto or Akira in the real world, to give them what they needed to heal, I couldn't help them wake up Asuna… but whatever it was, maybe I could help these people I'd met here do whatever it was they were after. The look I'd seen in their eyes… I couldn't get it out of my mind.
Yes… in this world I could do something to help people. I'll just take them to the tree… that's it.
Kirito spoke first instead of Archer. "Thanks, but… I'm sure Archer feels the same. We just met, we couldn't ask you to come all that way-."
"Oh, right! And I guess one of you already know how to get there?!" I said, coming around the table and striding over to them. "What're you going to do about the guardians?!"
I walked up to Kirito who was stammering. I was focused on him, but in the corner of my eye, I saw Archer step out of my way… and smile as he did.
Kirito stammered as I stopped in front of him. "Well… uh… it's like Archer said, we'll think of something when we-."
"It's too late!" I said firmly, crossing my arms. "My mind's made up!"
Kirito still looked unsure, he rubbed the back of his head, before looking to Archer. "Well… what do you think?"
I looked to the boy who wielded a bow like I'd never seen it wielded before. His green eyes… they had the same excited look to them they'd had before. He had his arms crossed for a moment, and his cute smile turned from me, over to Kirito.
"Well, it seems like even if we say now, she's determined to come," He said, his arms falling as he smiled even more upon looking at me. "I wouldn't put it past her to find and follow us, that just seems like the kind of person she is."
He winked again, and this time I had to fight tooth and nail to stop myself from blushing.
"Alright…" Kirito said, finally smiling as well. "So long as you're sure, we'll have you along."
"I am!" I said determined.
Archer laughed and turned that smile to me again, holding out his hand. "Alright then it's settled. Leafa, welcome to our party, it's an exclusive club now, you should feel honored."
Kirito groaned and annoyance shot up my throat.
"Oh… just shut up! You need me more then I need you!" I yelled back, before chewing at my lip and reaching out for his hand… it was warm and it made me smile. "But…it's a deal, let's get to the World Tree."
"We won't just get to it, we're gonna climb up the whole damn thing!" Archer said determined, a playful smile on his face. "Right Kirito?"
"Yeah… right," Kirito said, a small smile on his face as Yui floated back over to him.
I stopped the racing in my digital chest before it exploded by turning around from them.
"Okay… so, do you both wanna meet back here tomorrow at 3pm?" I asked, now not wanting to meet Archer's eyes.
"Yeah, that sounds good, Archer and I are normally home by then," Kirito explained.
I let out a breath and nodded, pulling up my menu. "Okay… I have to logout now, um… bye-."
"Wait!" Kirito shouted out.
I turned to them before pressing the button and met their eyes. "Um…. Yeah?"
Kirito smiled first. "Thank you, Leafa…"
"Yeah… thank you for this," Archer said next.
I let out a breath I'd been holding before nodding, and finally pressing the logout button.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Suguha
I slid the amusphere off my face, feeling the sweat slowly start to drip down my face. Above me I saw the photo of Leafa, my avatar flying through the Alfheim sky… and for a minute, all I could do was stare and feel the blood pumping through my veins. It raced like a rapid river, and soon, it all went up to face, making it as red as a tomato, before I turned and hugged onto my pillow to bury my face into it, trying to do anything to not blush.
"Oh… what did I just do?!" I said into the pillow, letting out a sigh. "Okay… it's just to the World Tree, that's it! Oh man… gahhhhhh!"
Why couldn't I stop thinking about his eyes, Archer's eyes were virtual, but they were real, they had been bright and then dark, and then bright again. His feelings and personality had been real. Kirito's emotions had been real as well but… all I heard was Archer's words playing over and over again in my head.
That just seems like the kind of person she is.
Was I really that kind of person? It didn't feel like it. I had extended a hand to help the two, but what use would I be? I couldn't even help Kazuto or Akira. Of course my brother and his best-friend said I'd helped but… but in the end I'd never understand what they truly were feeling since I wasn't there with them. Only Asuna was… and I couldn't help them get her to wake up. They said they would… and I'd trust they would, I could only be there now.
I steeled myself. "But… I can help the two of them! Only to the World Tree… that's it, that's all. No… no more than that… but… gahhhhhh!"
My face dug into the pillow again. I needed to get my mind off that bow wielding black Spriggan. He could have been a girl for all I knew, after all he was just an avatar… even if he was very real.
Besides… what if… what if Akira-.
"Hey! Hey Sugu!" Akira's voice came following a knock at my door.
I screamed and fell off my bed in my attempts to get up, my blanket falling on me and trapping me on the ground.
"Um… Sugu? Are you okay, I heard something fall," He asked again with another knock.
"I… I'm fine!" I shouted, as I won the battle against my blanket. "You can come in, it's okay!"
"Alright… here I come," He said, he always announced before he opened my door, which I greatly appreciated.
But the minute I heard my lock turned, I realized something horrible. Something that I couldn't let Akira see, because if I did it'd make things eternally awkward for us, and probably ruin any chance of him ever having feelings for me.
I had no pants on, only underwear and a large shirt.
"GAHHHHHHH DON'T COME IN HERE!" I yelled, lunging and pushing the door shut again.
Akira yelled out, as I heard him falling back onto the ground in the hall.
"Akira!" I shouted, almost pulling the door open to check on him, before keeping it shut at the last second. "Are… you okay?!"
"Ugh… yeah… yeah, I'm fine," He groaned, as I heard him get to his feet. "Um… I'm sorry if I bothered you. I just wanted to let you know, Kazuto and I are going into the city to get ice cream, do you want to come with us?"
He…. He's asking me to hangout! It's with my brother, but he's still asking!
My face got even redder as I leaned against the door and stood up. After remembering how words worked I responded. "Um… yes! Yes of course, just give me a few minutes I'll meet you both downstairs!"
"Okay, we'll wait, see you soon," Akira said, a pained tone to his voice.
After I heard him walk away, I slid down to the ground and lamented how absolutely crazy I probably just seemed.
"Oh man, I really messed that up…" I said, before patting the redness away from my face. "Okay, focus now, get dressed and focus!"
I let out a breath and stood up to walk over to my dresser, sifting through a pair of warm pants first off.
I'll worry about Archer and Kirito tomorrow… for now, just go have fun with your brother and… friend, yes, that's what he is, a friend.
"Oh man…" I said as I found a pair of suitable pants. "I need to stop lying to myself…."
I'd never felt this way before… it was certainly a new experience.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Suguha
"Ha… you know you could have just told me you weren't dressed," Akira said, rubbing the back of his head, but smiling all the same.
"I'm sorry…you're not hurt, are you?" I said, holding my chocolate ice cream with both hands.
He waved it off, licking his vanilla. "Oh, don't worry, I've had way worse trust me, here want caramel?"
"Yes!" I said, happy to change the topic, holding out my cone to him.
He laughed and grabbed the bottle from the table. "You know, Aki used to always love caramel. She had to have caramel everything, candy, ice cream, snacks, anything."
My eyes went wide eyed as the caramel drizzle fell around the ice cream. Ice cream of course solved all problems. I had tossed on a scarf, hat and other winter clothes, before the three of us had taken a late bus into the city. You could still see lingering decorations in certain places from new years and Christmas, and of course the lights in the city were as beautiful as always. The little ice cream shop wasn't very crowded, so Akira and I had gotten a table by the window while Kazuto was apparently still ordering.
All thoughts of Alfheim and my new party members were gone for now, all I wanted to focus on was Akira and my brother.
And of course the ice cream as well.
"Oh man, this is so good!" I cried, attacking the now caramel covered treat with new ferocity.
And for a minute I completely forgot about a cute boy sitting across from me. After getting nearly halfway through it in seconds, I heard Akira start sputtering out with laughter. I looked up and saw him trying to hold it back and suddenly my face went red from top to bottom like a thermometer.
"Ha… it's been a while!" I said, subconsciously slowing down my speed.
Finally, the laugh came out. "Ahaha… I don't think so, I've walked down on you going pretty hard at our tubs of ice cream."
I floundered, I was losing this battle. "I… well what's so wrong about that?! I happen to love ice cream and what do you do to ice cream, you eat it, so that's what I do!"
That only made him laugh more, which didn't help my face. Oh man I'm so horrible with words… but at least he's laughing.
He finished and held up his hands. "Haha no I'm not saying you shouldn't don't worry, sorry for laughing. Aki used to devour the stuff too… and it seems just like her you have tendency to make a mess, here."
The next thing he did was straight out of an anime. I saw him grab a napkin from the dispenser on the table, reach over and start wiping ice cream off my face! Part of me wanted to scream, most of me wanted to sit there look into his pretty eyes and enjoy the surreal moment, however, I ended up on somewhere in between. My face went beat red again and sweat started beating down my head like a flustered anime girl, as finally the tingling sensation up and down my arms was too much to bare.
"Huh? Sugu are you okay?" He asked, looking directly at me while he leaned over his table.
The napkin had just left my face, and now his face was inches from mine.
"GAHHH! I'm fine! Fine, fine totally fine!" I said, snatching the napkin from him and turning in my chair to dig back into my ice cream looking away from him.
I tried not to imagine the look of confusion I knew he had.
"Man Kazuto's right, you are a bit of a spaz aren't you," He said, but I could hear how amused he was so instead of being annoyed at his teasing I ended up having to hide behind my ice cream.
"Okay! I finally decided!" Kazuto's voice came, and me and Akira both turned to see him walking towards us.
I scoffed, and Akira looked like the times in an anime where a little sweat dropped off a characters head.
"Three scoops... really?" He said.
I didn't see anything wrong with that, I only didn't get three scoops because Akira had insisted on footing the bill for our ice cream. Kazuto on the other hand sat down with a big smile on his face and a scoop of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.
"I just couldn't decide, all of three of them looked so good just staring at me from inside the glass! They were practically begging me to get a scoop of all three!" My brother said, scooping up the caramel and drizzling it all over the tower of dairy.
Naturally I nodded in agreement. "My brother's right Akira, you see when you get ice cream, you need to go all out!"
"That's the Kiriguya way!" My brother said determined.
We fist bumped, which felt a bit weird but made me smile after a second…. This was really the most I'd heard Kazuto talk in over a month.
"Well I guess I know where Sugu gets it from, Aki always picked up habits from me," He said with a deadpan look for a moment. After a few seconds, I noticed him looking between my brother and me, before he stood from his seat. "You know, I think I'm gonna go for a walk really quick, you guys finish up your ice cream mountains and catch up in a bit."
"Huh? But it's so cold outside…" I told him, but Akira just shrugged, finishing his much smaller ice cream.
"Oh don't worry about me, I won't go far, you two have fun," He said, tossing a tattered black scarf around his neck and walking towards the door.
I watched him toss out his empty cone which almost made me scream. Who didn't eat the cone when they got ice cream?!
Kazuto as if reading my thoughts spoke. "What a waste, who doesn't eat their cone?"
"I know right…" I said.
I watched as Akira walked past the window, and after watching him for a few more seconds I saw him put his head up at stop light. Still with dozens of Tokyo residents walking alongside him, I watched as the light went green, and he jogged across the street, heading to a small store not far down the road.
Is… that a manga and anime shop? I know he likes that stuff, but-.
"So… Sugu, I need you to tell me straight," Kazuto said, and I turned to him, a bit confused as his head shot around and met my eye. "Have you asked Akira out yet? Or has he asked you?"
I exploded. "GAHHHH WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"
I almost tossed my ice cream onto the table, as Kazuto burst out laughing at how red my face was, and the sweat streaming down my forehead. He laughed so hard he almost dropped his ice cream, but saved it at the last second.
"Ahahaha, I mean what I said!" He said, a softer smile coming to his face. "So, has he? Or have you-."
"No! No, no, no, no not at all!" I said, shaking my head. "It's not like that, not at all, I don't even like him like that!"
"Aha… I'm sure you don't," He said smugly, licking at his ice cream. "A shame really, if there was any guy I hope you'd date some time in the future, you'd have a hard time finding someone better then Akira."
My mouth opened and closed. I couldn't think of any counter arguments for that. Instead I only, pulled my scarf up over my face.
"I… I don't think he can like me that much, since he just ran out…" I said, not really meaning it, but just wanting the topic to change.
But that was when Kazuto sighed and turned back to me. A worried look was in his eye as he spun his chair around to face me. I went stiff for a minute, my ice cream starting to melt down the cone. Just a moment ago, he was laughing, smiling, we had even fist bumped… but now.
He… he looks like he's looked before, I realized the pained look, the sadness underneath happy eyes. The look I'd seen on my two new party members earlier. That had been why I agreed to help them after all… because I felt so hopeless to help two people I cared about in the real world.
"The truth is… I asked Akira to leave for a few minutes," He said, looking down at the table. "I… I asked him to so that we could talk, so I could say something to you."
"Huh…? What… what do you mean? What is it?" I said, not able to take my eyes off him.
He sucked in a deep breath. "I've… been wanting to say this or a long time, but I was always too scared, too much of a coward but… but I know it needs to be said. You see, in SAO…"
My brain nearly imploded, Kazuto rarely ever mentioned SAO, let alone what happened there.
"In SAO… I… I thought at one point, Akira was going to die," He said. "So, before he thought he would he made me promise that… I would get back to the real world and make things right with my sister… like he never got to do with his."
My heart felt constricted… had I really been such a topic for the two of them, so much that before Akira thought he'd die I was brought up?
Something else he said played in my mind, like he never got to do with his…
Akira… never got to go back to his sister.
Kazuto sucked in a breath again. "Sugu… first I… I should tell you. The… the truth is, the two of us we… we're-."
"Cousins… we're not blood siblings," I said, unable to keep the smile off my face when I saw how surprised he got that I knew. "The truth is… I figured it out, Mom told me. She… told me you figured out when you were ten."
Kazuto stuttered, his eyes wide. "You… you knew, but… but you didn't say anything the last month, why?"
My thoughts went away from Akira for the moment, from my new party members. All I could do was smile at my brother.
"Well, because it never really changed anything for me," I said, looking out the window at the beautiful lit up city. "Whether we're cousins, siblings, or not related at all… you're still my big brother Kazuto," I said, turning and smiling at him, "and I love my big brother, no matter what!"
I'd lost count of the amount of days I wanted to say that to him. I could tell what he was trying to say now, to apologize for. I wouldn't lie and say some of those days he'd ignored me, suddenly turning from my big brother into almost a stranger, didn't hurt me at the time… but in the end… it didn't matter.
Because no matter what, he was my big brother, my family.
"S…Sugu…" He said, tearing to where he had to wipe his arm with his sleeve. His ice cream started to melt too, but he didn't mind, he only shook his head. "I… I'm sorry, for everything. I've always felt like you were forced into kendo because of me, and then when I found out we weren't really siblings I didn't know how to react! I… I didn't know how to approach you, it's my fault we grew so apart, and… and after I met Akira he taught me how much sisters mean, how much family really means and all I could think was… was to-."
"Kazuto…" I said, sacrificing my ice cream onto the table, and reaching out to hug him. He was so shocked he almost dropped his ice cream as well. "I love kendo, I should be thanking you for how much I love it…and as for everything else well… I never hated you, never for one second. Yeah it hurt sometimes but… like I said, I've always loved my big brother, and that's what you are. I… I'm so happy that you're back."
I had even started tearing up now… this had been the last thing I expected when we went out for ice cream. A small part of me began to think, that it really hadn't been Akira's idea to come out tonight.
"Su…Sugu…" He said, finally letting his ice cream fall to the table, and I felt pretty good that he sacrificed three scoops of deliciousness to hug me.
Yeah… I think two ice cream cones are worth it… I thought, as I squeezed onto my brother, the smile getting wider as my thoughts drifted. And… thank you… Akira… for bringing my brother back.
"Okay… we should probably clean this up now," I said, feeling suddenly peppier as I pulled away from him. "We… did make a bit of a mess."
He wiped his tears. "Yeah… looks like we did."
We both looked deadpan at the fallen now melting ice cream on the table and both tried to hold in the tears. We had let down our Kiriguya way.
Still… it had been worth it.
Kazuto sighed, and reached for napkins. "Alright, let's clean this up and go find Akira."
My eyes went wide at a realization. "Oh man… Akira's gonna be so mad at us for wasting the ice cream he paid for."
Kazuto chuckled. "Ha… probably, he's a conservative one, even was back in SAO. He… he would always retrieve and repair all the arrows he could after a fight, and had our friend repair them, even though it made them weaker. He said it 'saved money and his sanity'. Ha! He also used to turn all my lights off in me and Asuna's player homes when we weren't in the room as if he had an electric bill!"
I couldn't help but laugh… and dared to ask a question. "Hey… Kazuto? Could you… maybe tell me more about what Akira was like in SAO?"
Kazuto froze for a moment, but finally turned… with a smirk on his face. "Oh… and why dear sister would you want to know more?"
Dammit he's onto me!
My face got beat red as I laughed and darted to grab napkin. "HAHAHA! No… no reason! I… I'll go get more napkins!"
And I turned at my brother laughing, rushing towards the employees… my face as red as could be.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Akira
"Oh man, nothing at all…" I muttered, moving past the fantasy section starting with A. "It was wishful thinking… still, it could have been useful."
The old manga and anime shop I was in… I'd been here before, plenty of times and it had never let me down. If it didn't have a manga or light novel about Alfheim Online, it didn't exist, the owner was always up to date. My plan had been to see if any manga or light novels had been written or drawn about the game, I had hoped maybe it could give me information on the 'Grand Quest' Leafa mentioned, perhaps a way to activate it, or maybe a secret route to the World Tree's top.
We had Leafa now, which I was grateful for, but it didn't help to have more information.
"Mom used to always say, knowledge is power," I muttered, walking down the aisles of beautifully drawn manga covers… and I felt something shatter in me. "Aki… she could draw stuff just as good as these."
It had been amazing how talented my sister had been. I stopped and looked up over at the old elder shop keeper checking out a customer. Above his head were multiple framed drawings and old limited-edition manga… but he also had customer contests, where dozens of regular people submitted manga ideas and covers for competitions. That wall had been the reason I came into the store when I saw it… I wanted to see if it was still there.
And sure enough… it was.
1st Place, Aki Miller
It was in the top corner, a drawing of an old manga idea Aki had submitted only a month or so before we'd been trapped in SAO. The drawing was of a girl in regular clothes, but behind her was a warrior woman clad in armor, holding up a large flowing banner. The woman was supposed to be the Saint Joan of Arc. Aki's idea had been a bit like the Fate series, except instead of servants fighting each other, the mages took the power and form of the heroic spirits and fought themselves, and the more you fought with your spirit, the more you learned about them and the stronger your power grew.
I still could remember providing her with info on several historical figures, including Joan of Arc. I remembered asking Aki cheekily why she hadn't submitted her manga with me as the hero.
She's smiled and said, because that's my masterpiece! I don't want anyone to see that until it's all done, that way everyone can know what a hero you are!
My hands shook in my gloves. Sugu and Kirito had to be done by now, and I knew I needed to get back but… all I could do was look at that picture and walk down the same isle I'd been in two years prior with Kya and Aki… it felt like it was only the previous day… and it was more painful then anything I'd been through in SAO.
It should have been you.
I obviously hadn't let Kirito or Sugu know, but those words had been in my head over and over again. In the middle of the shonen section, I dug into my pocket to grab my phone and open up my emails. Even before I'd seen Hanuko and Mr. Tanaka at Kya's grave the day before, Hanuko had given me her email address and phone number, telling me to message her when I was finally ready to come and pick up the rest of my things from the Tanaka residence. I had at least a dozen more boxes of stuff to get, and I was sure that if I asked Mrs. Kiriguya, she'd help arrange a car.
It wouldn't even take that long an hour at the most to move everything… but still, I hadn't done it.
It should have been you…
Sugu had gotten so mad at Mr. Tanaka on my behalf yesterday… but I had stopped her for a reason.
I stared at my phone screen, at Hanuko's email address for a moment, before coming to a stop and stuffing my phone back into my pocket.
I… I can't… I just can't, I told myself, my stomach wrenching from the ice cream and the experience in VR earlier. Kirito had a good time in ALO, I could see it the entire time we'd been in the game, of course, he was still worried sick about Asuna… but I could just tell how at home he had felt in the virtual world.
That was good… he needed it, and after what he and Sugu did for me, they were all that mattered now, them, and Asuna.
I'm doin a good thing… im focusing on my friends, they deserve to be happy, to finally be at peace… I should feel good, so why… so why…
My hands trembled at my sides grabbing onto my coat sleeves. My old scarf, the last one my mother had owned was loose now, but I ignored it. I looked down at my hands… and suddenly, the gloves weren't there anymore, it had been just about night time outside a minute ago… so why was the sun shining now?
"Big brother! Akira, Akira look at this!"
I choked and looked up. I could see it, exactly what had happened in this exact section of the store over two years ago. Aki was practically bouncing, a large box set of manga in her hands, her eyes glued to it before she turned around. Her blonde pigtails fell behind her back, she wore a small white dress I remember Kya had lent her, she looked at me… directly at me with the eyes that were the exact same as mine.
"I… Ak…" I couldn't speak.
"Aki! I told you to stop running ahead!" Another voice said, and as if walking right through me… I saw well… me.
The scene played out in-front of me, I knew it wasn't real… but I could see.
"Look Akira! It's the Demon Slayer box set, I've been looking everywhere for this," She said, holding the box set over her head triumphantly. "Can we get it, please, please, pleaseeeee Akira!"
"Calm down, we're only here to look," I had told her, taking the box from her. "But if it's reasonable I don't see the… Gah, 38,000 yen?! That's ridiculous!"
"Hey, don't make fun of Mr. Nashimodo's prices!" Aki pouted, her cheeks puffed out as she stomped her foot on the floor. "That's every volume of Demon Slayer plus extra editions! With a single manga volume for Demon Slayer being 1,783 yen for 23 volumes plus the two side stories, you'd be spending 44,575 yen, so buying all of the together for the price of 38,000 yen is extremely reasonable, we're getting a steal with this price!"
"Since when did you become so good at math…" I had muttered, putting the box back on the shelf.
Aki crossed her arms and smirked. "When it comes to math that is important such as this, I'm extremely efficient! Come onnnn Akira, pleaseeeee!"
I had sighed and put the box back on the shelf. "Aki, we can't right now. You know we're saving up for other things."
"Pleaseeeee, I'll pay for half of it I promise!"
"Aki you don't have half of it."
"I'll pay you back for weeks! Come onnnn Akira, please, I want to try and redraw the artwork!" She begged, having tugged at my arm.
I had sighed. "You don't understand Aki, we need to-."
"Oh it's alright Akira, I'll buy it for her," A softer voice came after that.
Aki's eyes went wide and she had darted past me. "Really?! Yaaayyy, thank you Kya I love you!"
Kya had stood behind me, a cute winter blazer on with a scarf around her neck. Her red hair fell back around her shoulders, and she smiled, walking past us and grabbing the box set for Aki. Aki latched herself onto Kya's waist, and for a minute Kya just hugged her back, looking back over at me with that smile she always had.
It was after that, I was finally snapped back to reality. Back in the real world, in real time I stood in front of that same shelf. I looked in front of me and saw that same Demon Slayer box set on the shelf. Mr. Nashimodo must have gotten a new one by now. I could remember how annoyed I'd been that day, how overbearing I'd been. That didn't stop, every single time I'd denied her something, every single time I'd told her now, made her cry, yelled at her.
"It… it really should have been me," I said as my hands continued to shake. I looked down at my gloved hands, and all they did was tremble, people walked by me, and probably saw nothing, completely unaware to the anguish flowing through my mind.
It should have been you.
I had told Sugu not to defend me yesterday… because Mr. Tanaka had been right. I didn't regret meeting the friends I had after they died, or even ending SAO and making it back myself… but I still should have saved them, I should have died for the two of them.
It should have been me.
And now… I can't even go and get our stuff so Kya's parents can really grieve, I thought, looking at the ground in the store, silent tears falling down onto the carpeted floors.
"I'm sorry Kya, Aki… I'm no hero," I said, clutching my fists. "I don't even know how to really save Asuna… I… I…"
Even if Asuna was in that cage at the top of the World Tree… what could me and Kirito do? If Sugou was really controlling the world like I had been theorizing, what was to stop him as the head GM to just snap Kirito and me out of the game?! What hope did we have of it?
"Asuna you… you're lucky you have Kirito," I said, my hands falling back to my sides. "He'll find a way… I… I'd just-."
Suddenly, there was a tightening in my chest. My hands shot over it, and my breaths became short and rapid. My knees started buckling under me, and I couldn't what was wrong, all I could think was how much of a coward I felt like, how weak I felt to accomplish something even as simple as going to collect my old things.
I… I need to leave, Kirito and Sugu are probably looking for me, I told myself, I ignored the shortness of breath I was feeling, I ignored the pain in my legs and started towards the door of the shop.
"What… what am I going to do," I whispered to myself, weaving around the crowds of people, grabbing at my chest still, pain shooting through it. "What… what's happening, why can't I breath…"
I got to the door, panicked now and threw it open to exit. "What… what am I-."
"Gahhhh!"
A high pitch yelp ran in my ears, as I realized with horror that when I had shoved the door open, it had slammed into someone. My chest pain went away in a second, as nothing but guilt washed over me then. It was a girl I knew that, and for a horrible moment I thought I'd smacked Sugu with the door after she'd come to find me.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry! I… I wasn't watching where I was going," I yelled moving into the street, and seeing that thankfully it hadn't been Sugu. I still felt horrible of course, that my panic attack had resulted in the girl being attacked by a door.
Outside, I had noticed small snowflakes starting to fall, and doing the only thing someone should have done in my situation and rushed to help her. I noticed she was rubbing her forehead, her bag having fallen off her shoulder, so I grabbed it for her and reached out my hand.
"I'm so sorry…" I said again, holding out a hand again, guilt racking my brain. "Here let me help you up, it's the least I can do."
"Ugh… it… it's okay, I'm a bit of a klutz, I wasn't paying attention either," She said pushing up the rim of the glasses she wore a new mark on her forehead.
Great, her family will probably think I attacked her, I thought horribly, as she took my hand and I helped her up to her feet. When she finally did stand, she smiled to seemingly let me know she was okay, and took her bag back from me. Suddenly I was red, she's… cute.
Very cute at that. Her short black hair went down just past her ears, with two small braid on each side of her head tied with a tiny clip down to her shoulder. She wore a longer jacket, a sweater underneath and a winter hat, with warm looking stockings up her legs and a skirt around her mid-thigh. It looked a bit like a school uniform underneath her sweater as she had on a tie. She took her bag back, and readjusted her glasses, grey eyes looking up at me now.
I spoke up after struggling to find words for a minute. "No, you don't need to apologize," I bowed to her. "I… well… was in a rush and didn't see anything, please tell me what I can do to make it up to you."
Her eyes went wide and she waved her hands. "No! Please, you don't have to bow, it's okay really. I'm fine see… wait, where's my scarf…"
I looked up with her, and we both turned to see in the street a black scarf. The girl went to grab it but I darted ahead of her towards the street, only for a gust of chilly wind to sweep it up and carry it down the street, only for it to be taken up by a car and carried away.
"Oh man… that was the only one I had," She lamented, as we both stood at the edge of the street.
I didn't even think, it was just a natural instinct then. Without even saying anything, I spun the scarf I was wearing off my neck, it was a bit tattered and old, my mom had made it a while ago. It was one of the last few things I had of her… but I knew that if she had been watching me then, she would have scolded me to give the girl the scarf since it was my fault hers was lost now.
"Here, you can have mine," I said, holding it out for her as she turned around. "It's the least I can do seeing as this is my fault."
She stammered for a moment, her face getting redder as she looked from me to the scarf. "I… I can't take this!"
"Huh? Why… not?" I asked her. "I washed it just today I promise."
"No, it's not that!" She said, going to pull up the scarf that wasn't there, only to get even redder when she couldn't hide her face. "I… I can't wear the scarf of a boy I just met…"
"Oh… yeah, sorry," I said, looking up and holding out my hand. "I'm Akira Miller, see? If we introduce ourselves, we aren't strangers, so you can take it then right?"
She stuttered, but eventually a bashful smile came to her. "I… suppose you're right. It's nice to meet you, Miller, I'm Shino Asada."
Shino Asada… cute name, I told myself, smiling as she shook my hand.
"Please, you can just call me Akira, it's what everyone does," I told her, smiling. "It's nice to meet you Shino-."
After saying her first name, I saw her tense, her face get redder, another bashful, nervous look under her glasses. Mentally smacking myself I realized I'd done it again, my stupid American side was coming out. I had lived in Japan half my life now, but I still messed up simple things sometimes, like the fact you really shouldn't call someone by their first name unless they give you permission, or you were close to that person, like I was with Kirito and Sugu.
"Gah sorry! I used to live in America, I still mess up sometimes," I told her, bowing again. "I'm sorry Asada, I-."
"No! No, it's okay… Akira…" She said, starting to smile again. "If you're letting me call you Akira, you can call me Shino, it just caught me a little off guard is all."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks then… Shino. Here, put this on before you get cold."
"Th…thank you!" She said nervously, taking it from me and wrapping it around her neck. "Wow… this is really warm, it's like it was knitted."
"It was, my mom made it for a me a while ago," I said, nervously rubbing the back of my head, looking up at her again. "Oh man… you still got a mark on your head. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I… I'm fine I swear!" She said, laughing nervously and rubbing her forehead. "It'll be fine in a few hours, I'll ice it back home… are… you okay? You said you were in a rush?"
I thought for a minute about Sugu and Kirito, where were they? I hadn't gone far. However, I thought back and remembered how horrible Kirito's sense of direction in SAO was, and if his was bad, I assumed Sugu's was too. I had some time, especially with those two looking.
Shino's question though, brought me back to what happened in the store. My chest started feeling tighter again, but there was a girl looking at me now who didn't need to hear about all of my problems. It wasn't her job to listen to all the regrets I had.
"I… I'm okay now, really," I told her, but the look on her face said she really didn't believe me. "I should apologize again for holding you up, can I do something to make it up to you? Do… you want ice cream? My friends and I were just at the shop down the street, I need to go see them anyway."
Her eyes went wide, and for a minute, I thought I had overstepped. Seeing her bashful face again, made me think about how cute her bashful face looked, and thinking about how cute she was, was the last thing I needed right now. I couldn't even go to my old home to get me and my sister's stuff, what way was there for me to possibly get into any kind of relationship? I could barely look after myself, let alone be with another person right now.
I couldn't even protect Asuna, my sister, or my old girlfriend, I didn't want to set myself or anyone else up for failure again.
Still… this is the least I can do for her, I thought, as Shino looked back up and slowly nodded.
"Um… well, if you're offering," She said, a cute smile coming back to her face. "Sure, it'd love too."
I felt as if a massive rock had been moved off my chest.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
"I see, so you moved here from Hokkaido for school," I said, looking at her Shino from across the table. "You really live by yourself? That's impressive, it takes a mature person for that."
"Ha… it's really not that impressive," She said, pulling my scarf up over her face for a minute. "I've only been on my own for a few weeks. What about you? Didn't you say you were here with some friends?"
"I was… but they couldn't find their way out of a paper bag," I told her, finishing off my ice cream, this time I'd gotten it in a cup. "They're probably wondering around now, they'll come back here eventually."
She giggled at that, scooping more ice cream into her mouth. "Ha… well that certainly sound fun. Thank you, for this, you didn't have to pay for it."
"Oh, trust me I don't mind paying for ice cream," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "Just don't ask me to pay for a hospital visit if you need to get your head checked out later."
That made her laugh in earnest, and I couldn't help but smile. She scooped up more of her vanilla ice cream, which I took note of for the flavor. Now I could rub it in Sugu's face after she teased me saying nobody else got vanilla except me because it was the 'boring' flavor. Kirito had done the same. The Kiriguya's took their ice cream seriously.
But, the smile on my face didn't last. All I could do was feel ashamed. Me losing my cool had led to me nearly injuring an innocent person. I had really been lying to myself for the last month.
The reality was… I wasn't nearly as strong as I liked to think I was. If I couldn't control my own emotions, if I let them get in the way of what was important, saving Asuna, making sure my friends could get back to their old lives… then what good was I? Kirito had been stronger then me in SAO, Asuna had too, so many people had done more. Even now, Kirito was putting his grief aside and putting everything he could into saving Asuna. He had just finally talked to Sugu and apologized for the past.
Yes, it was true, no matter how many days I went to the gym, no matter what I told myself… I was too weak to do what needed to be done. The only thing I could do was shoot a bow well… and despite how powerful I seemed in ALO, what if I found another way to mess it up, and we lost Asuna for good?
I may have been powerful… but that didn't make me strong.
"Hey…. Akira? Are you sure you're okay?" Shino said, suddenly pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm being rude, I invited you along now I'm not talking," I said, nervously, but Shino's eyes were soft and welcoming. She didn't seem angry… only concerned.
It was… really nice for a girl who I'd hit with a door only a couple of minutes ago.
"It's okay… so you don't seem to me in much of a rush anymore," She said, pushing her now empty cup of ice cream to the side. "What was it that you were moving so fast for?"
I stuttered. "It… it's not a big deal, really. I don't wanna bother you with all the details, it's not your job to listen."
"You wouldn't be bothering me…" She said, a small smile coming to her face, despite a look I her eyes not following the smile. "It's important to talk about things that bother you with people you trust. Or… or else you'll end up going mad."
"I… I suppose you're right," I told her. "But still… we just met, it wouldn't be fair of me to lay all my problems at your feet. I'll be fine I-."
"Will you?" She said, cutting me off, looking up at me now. "I… I hate seeing people upset over past problems and trauma… it hits close to home you could say. So, I can't just turn a blind eye to someone else who's feeling like this."
My mouth opened and closed… she sounded so… confident, despite the look in her eyes. She gave me a smile… probably the cutest smile I'd seen from anyone not named Yui in the last month. Her head tilted to the side, and I don't know what it was, but after seeing her smile words started coming easier to me.
"Well… the whole story would be a bit confusing, and long," I said, not wanting to lay everything at her feet, despite her words. "But to shorten it well… there's something I need to do, something to help a friend who's in danger and… and well… I've let people down before, because I wasn't strong enough and now… I don't think I'll be strong enough to help them."
Shino's eyes went wide, and she became bashful again. The words… surprisingly didn't hurt coming out, I found myself able to talk to her without issue. She went red again, and pulled my scarf up over her face to hide it before slowly nodding.
"Okay well… then that's just like me," She said, sounding embarrassed.
"Huh… really?" I asked her.
She nodded. "Yeah… you see I'm trying to become stronger too, so… so I can overcome my past. I… I have a long way to go, but my grandfather said, the best way to become strong, is to do something."
I scoffed nervously. "Ha… that sounds simple. Too simple really."
She shook her head, now smiling fondly. "He also said simple solutions are often the most effective. He said you have to do something. Just sitting back and crying or complaining, that won't do anything. If you want something… reach out and grab it! I… I have a long way to go like I said, but I've found that taking smaller baby steps first helps."
Smaller… baby steps huh? That… that sounds easy enough, I thought, my phone suddenly becoming heavier in my pocket.
I wanted to save Asuna. I wanted to keep my promise, the promise the three of us made in their house in Aincrad. The real world, virtual world… any world, the three of us would stick together… I intended to keep that promise.
"Reach out and do something huh…" I said, thinking that if Asuna were here, if Kya or Aki were here… they'd probably say the same thing. I looked back up at Shino, who got all flustered when I did. "Thanks Shino… I… I think that's going to help me out a lot."
Her face went beat red and she nodded, pulling the scarf up again. "You… you're welcome! But please, I'm still not strong at all, I have such a long way to go it seems impossible."
"I've learned that nothings impossible," I told her, smiling her way again. "But you seems pretty strong to me. You took that door to the face like a champ!"
"Ha… thanks to you I feel stronger already, it looks like we both helped each other tonight!" She said, before we both laughed… and it felt good.
After laughing for a few seconds, a phone rang, it sounded like an alarm. I looked over and saw Shino jumped, before digging into her bag and pulling out her phone. She looked at the screen and then went wide eyed, before stuffing it back in her bag and getting up from her seat.
"I… I'm sorry! I'd stay longer but I have to go, my grandfathers coming in to visit me and I need to be at my apartment to meet him!" She said, gathering her things and going to toss out her ice cream.
"Ha… it… it's okay," I said, sounding way more nervous then I intended.
Why… why do I feel like I lied? Oh man… I really did want her to stay, I thought, as she finished throwing away her trash and turned, going to take off my scarf.
I stood up and stood her, gently holding onto her arm. "It's okay, you keep that, at least until you get a new one, I don't mind, really."
She went stiff for a minute, before looking up at me. "I… I can't take this! You said your mom made it for you!"
"Yeah, and she'd smack upside the head if I lost a girl her scarf and didn't offer this one to her," I said, moving my hand from her wrist and tightening the scarf for her. "I don't mind, honest. Just keep it until you get a new one."
"And… how will you know when I do?" She asked, her hands held behind her back, her shoe tapping the ground.
I didn't think about it again. I reached down into my pocket and pulled out my phone, pulling up my email address and showing it to her.
"Here, this is my email, just message me when you do," I told her, smiling again.
She hesitated for a minute, but a tiny smile came to her face. "Okay…"
She went and took down my email into her phone, and after she did she stuffed it back into her bag. For an awkward moment we both stood there, before she spoke first.
"Thank you… for the ice cream!" She said, trying to not look me in the eye.
I found myself feeling red now. "You're welcome… and sorry again for hitting you with that door."
Her nerves melted as she smiled wider. "Ha, it's okay… we helped each other out, remember?"
"I do yeah… it was meeting you, Shino," I said.
She nodded and turned towards the door. "And you too, Akira! Maybe… maybe we can do this again sometime, bye!"
She didn't give me time to answer, before hurriedly moving towards the door and walking outside. I let out a breath and watched her walk down the street before falling back into my chair at the table, my face going back to its normal color, before I went over what just happened in my head.
Huh… a cute girl who gives good advice, I thought smiling. The blushing and nerves were natural, I was still a boy who had run into a really cute girl and went for ice cream with her. A part of me didn't really expect Shino to email me back for anything other than to give back my scarf… but still, meeting her had turned the day even better. What could come of our meeting wasn't what was on my mind now, all I worried about was what she had said.
And now… I knew what to do.
"Baby steps… okay," I said, reaching for my phone again and going to my emails.
I sent one message, it was still relatively early, I knew they'd get it.
"Akira! There you are!" An excited voice said behind me.
I spun around to see Sugu rushing back into the ice cream shop, a very embarrassed looking Kazuto following up behind her.
I laughed at them. "Ha, I was only across the street, what took you both so long?"
Sugu crossed her arms and glared at her brother. "We would have found you if Kazuto hadn't taken a turn he called a shortcut."
She held up air quotes and I couldn't not laugh.
Kirito grumbled. "I was sure it was the right way… we didn't get that lost."
"Yes we did!" Sugu said, turning to glare at him again. "We ended up three blocks over!"
"It's not my fault!" Kirito tried to say.
"Then who'd fault is it?!" Sugu shouted back.
Kirito crossed his arms indignantly. "You have no room to talk about directions. You got lost for two hours that one time we went camping! Maybe I should tell Akira how you used leaves too-."
"NO! NO DON'T YOU DARE!" She yelled, reaching up and clamping a hand over her brothers mouth. "If you tell him I'll never forgive you! He doesn't-."
"Kazuto, Sugu… can I ask you guys for help with something?" I cut them off, my hands clutched at my side, my gaze at the floor.
"Huh? Akira, what is it?" Kirito said, pushing Sugu away from him. "You know we'd help you out with anything, all you gotta do is ask."
"Kazuto's right," Sugu said, her tone changing as she looked at me. She smiled. "We'll do anything to help you out-. Akira… are you okay?"
"Yeah, what's wrong man are you alright?" Kazuto asked, as tears started coming down my face.
I looked up at them both. Kirito's smile had always been naturally comforting.
And I realized then… that Sugu had an adorable smile as well. One that made me even more confident despite my tears.
"I… I'm okay," I told them, smiling as I wiped my eyes. "I… I wanted to ask you both…. Will you come to the Tanaka's with me tomorrow afternoon? It's time for me to finally get everything Aki and I left behind."
Next Time, Episode 4: Captive Queen, diving back into ALO, Leafa is joined by her two new party members, Kirito and Archer, as the three set out on their seemingly impossible quest. However, Leafa quickly learns that these two Spriggans don't know the meaning of impossible. Meanwhile, in the real world, Akira finally returns to the Tanaka residence, the last place he and Aki were both alive together. It'll be a struggle for him to even enter, but luckily he's not alone.
A/N: Welcome back everybody! First, apologies for the extended time between updates, we're gonna go back to at least once a week now, it's just at the end of June I went on vacation for a few weeks and the last thing on my mind was writing xD Still, I'm back now and avoided burnout so now I'm raring to go!
In this chapter a LOT went down. We see Leafa finally meet Kirito and Archer properly, the official party up, and then a heavy scene back in the real world.
Now I LOVE Kirito and Sugu, their relationship post fairy dance doesn't get talked about enough. People always get stupidly hung-up on the fact Sugu had a school-girl crush on her cousin, but that never really bothered me. From how they both describe it, the two were almost strangers for years before SAO, so seeing him come back a totally different person, it didn't bother me that she developed a crush on him. After Fairy Dance however? Sugu is sister of the year, always supporting her brother and her friends with everything she's got.
Of course in this timeline, it's Akira who's captured Sugu's heart and it seems Kazuto can see it xD I loved writing that scene between the two of them, and it transitions into the next part where we get a surprise cameo!
Originally I planed to have it be actually Sugu and Kirito who find Akira after his anxiety/panic attack, but since I was itching to finally have them interact and didn't wanna wait ALL the way to Gun Gale, I decided to throw her in here. For those who don't know, Akira and Shino/Sinon are going to be together, that's Akira's canonical ship.
However, I thought about writing a few tiny sort of 'What If?" stories, like small 1-2 chapter stories after each arc, showing what would have happened if Akira had felt different. Like I said, Sinon in this is his canonical ship, but I thought it'd be cool to write a small alternate story to where he developed real feelings for Mito, Leafa, Alice etc.
BUT as I've said in previous ANs on this story and Aincrad, it's going to be Akira/Sinon, so I think it was a good call just to have her here for a bit now.
That's going to be her only appearance in this arc, before of course we get to Gun Gale!
So, that is all, I hope you all enjoyed, please, please leave a review of what you thought and what you're excited for! I'll see you all next time!
