Just a fun, short story using one of the summer events from Integral Factor, with a little twist as usual when I do these things.


Koharu sighs happily as she switches into her swimsuit and walks along the resurfaced beach event map. For some reason, it returned from last year, though Koharu is far from complaining. Any excuse to put on her white and green swimsuit and take her worries away from Sword Art Online as a prison rather than a game is a plus in her mind.

Her first destination is the dark-skinned boy in a red and black shirt and shorts seated on a towel and underneath an umbrella. She smiles and calls out to her as she dashes across the beach. "Oh, hey, Jaymes! Looks like they made the Beach Event Map available again this year!"

He sighs. "Ugh… It's so hot… But that swimsuit still looks nice on you."

Koharu blushes as she sits beside Jaymes. Happy for the compliment (even though he's seen the same swimsuit multiple times now), she smiles back at him. "R-Really? Glad you like it, hehe… You look nice too."

"Thanks, but I'm no Agil… That guy has too many muscles."

"True...but I like you how you are."

"Yeah… Same to you, even if it does seem like other girls with… Well, I prefer you, Ko."

Koharu narrows her eyes at her partner, resting her chin on her knees. "Such a smooth save."

Jaymes crosses his arms and winks at her. "Saving things, including my wack attempts at flirting, is my specialty… But we should enjoy ourselves, both as a couple and with our friends. It seems another couple is already ahead on things." Koharu follows Jaymes' eyes to the aforementioned couple of Asuna and Kirito.

They stand close by, scanning the region, hands in contact. Koharu smiles warmly in remembrance of how awkward they were long ago, and even longer ago, how they had difficulty getting along (primarily because of Asuna's pride and Kirito's unfortunate luck). Now they can talk about how many watermelons are on the beach or Kirito's interest in the shops, yet they decide to sit around like Jaymes and Koharu. And not to mention how beautiful Asuna looks in her blue swimsuit, Koharu wished she could compare.

Turning off her eavesdrop skill, Koharu scoots closer to Jaymes and holds his arm, hoping to mimic just a little of the closeness Kirito and Asuna are demonstrating. "Those two are sitting so close together. Looks like things are going good between them."

"It's like they're a stupid married couple…"

"You really think so? And you two aren't much better."

"Wh-Wha--Klein?" Koharu and Jaymes turn to Klein, who Koharu finally notices has been sitting down beside them the entire time. He looks...unusually glum as he stares at Kirito and Asuna's back.

Jaymes is shocked to see Klein there too. "What are--and when--you doing here?"

"Yeah, isn't the NPC in her swimsuit you were chasing after last year all the way over there?"

Klein clears his throat. "I made up my mind that I wasn't going to be hitting on girls this time."

Jaymes looks to Koharu, possibly wondering if she heard the same mind-blowing statement. When she nods, he faces Klein again. "Dude… Are you feeling okay? No way you grew out of it."

"Hey, I make an effort to act my age sometimes, you know?"

"Yeah," Koharu defends. "Even he can act mature sometimes! I saw him buying potions earlier from an NPC who wasn't just another cute girl. That's some progress, isn't it? It's a long way from when he used to go around looking specifically for girls to buy stuff from." Even as Koharu defends Klein, if it can be called that, it sounds pathetic to say out loud.

Not even Jaymes, who personifies being a teenage boy either intentionally or not, is in disbelief. "Seriously, Klein? Man…"

Klein turns away, arms crossed. "Oh, cut it out, guys! My fault for acting mature… Anyway, I'm worried about the future of those two. Especially Kirito. At this rate, they're never going to make any progress. And while I'm on it, you too as well, Jaymes."

"Why's that," Koharu inquires while looking at Kirito and Asuna again. "They seem to be getting along to me."

"And what do you mean you're worried about me?"

"I'll get to you later. Koharu, you would think they're doing fine, but use your eavesdropping skill to listen in."

"But what if they're talking about something lovey-dovey?"

"Just do it, okay?"

Koharu looks to Jaymes, but he offers no support. He's probably irked as to what Klein meant about him, so for the moment, he's useless. "Okay…" She activates the skill again and listens closely to her friends' conversation.

"I think the enemies on that floor are too strong."

"How so?"

"It shouldn't be much of a problem for you since you're a speed-based build, but getting hit by one of their attacks would be bad…"

"Yeah, things would take a turn for the worse…"

"Sound lovey-dovey to you?"

Koharu deactivates the skill and sighs. "They were talking about how to clear the current floor."

"Doesn't sound romantic to me," Jaymes adds.

Klein nods. "They're both into each other, but this is just sad. This map is perfect for dates, but they still invited third wheels like us."

"We really are third wheels, huh…"

"We don't count, Ko. At best… Well, it's not exactly a double date either. Then again, even before Koharu and I started dating, we've done events with Kirito and Asuna...oh."

Koharu gasps. "Wait, so we've been third wheels the whole year?"

"Exactly," Klein states. "There's no way they'd talk about anything romantic if they never really get a chance to be alone. I mean, I'm part of the problem too, but don't you want to help them get closer together? Isn't that what friends are for?" Klein stands up and has a determined expression on his face. "Alright! Since it's come to this, I'm just going to tell Asuna that K-dawg looks at screenshots of her in her swimsuit sometimes!"

"Hold it right there!" Jaymes grabs Klein's ankle before the older man can dash out with his terrible plan. "Now, as much as I would like to help Kirito and that...witch become closer, you're just going to make things worse! This isn't a doujin, Klein. That would work then...and maybe work a little too well."

"Hm… Well, I did have that one plan for a situation like this."

"Which is?"

Klein shakes his head. "Wait, no. Never mind."

Koharu bites her lips and glances at the other pairing. "I think it's best to leave them be and watch over them from afar."

"You're right, Koharu. That does make the most sense… But I wouldn't say I like watching them like that. It's too sad. Don't you think they should be enjoying their youth while it's at its peak?"

"You might be right."

"Don't easily agree with him, Ko. It sounds like he's trying to get Kirito laid. You seem to care about this way too much."

"Well, yeah… Care to hear me out on this? Do you remember the first day how Kirito helped Koharu and me? It was just afterward that Kayaba unloaded his whole spiel on us and left me speechless. It was then that Kirito asked me if I wanted to join his party. I didn't take up his offer and ended up joining Fuurinkazan instead. But I still think about it from time to time. I think K-dawg was looking for someone to call his partner. Everyone has to go on the right path in order to clear this death game. You need power to do it. High levels, high-stat equipment, and superior skills. These are things you usually obtain with the help of your friends. I think that guy is amazing for being able to gain all of that through playing solo. But even then, people insulted him, calling him a Beater. They just don't understand that's just how he rolls. What he did to survive. He's been carrying that burden all alone."

Jaymes goes quiet and sighs, staring ahead. "Yeah. I know. We were with him and Asuna as a party for a while, you know. I know how true that is."

"I should have been with him back then, but the difference in our levels was too high. At least now he finally found his ray of hope. Asuna, someone who can keep up with him and supports him both in battle and spirit. I thought that was good news. Kirito wasn't alone anymore. Those two should be together."

Koharu holds her hand to her eyes and wipes them. "Klein, you're going to make me cry with such an emotional story like that."

"You've really grown up."

"Definitely. You've got such a heart of gold. Why don't you show it off more often?"

Klein sighs. "Hey, I can't tell if those are supposed to be insults or compliments--"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAH! That was so moving!" The three jump in place as a fourth person, a purple-haired girl in a yellow swimsuit, standing up to the height of Koharu's shoulder, appears with wet eyes.

"Yuuki? Is that you? And...you're crying?"

Yuuki nods as she drowns in tears. "I hid because I wanted to surprise you guys but then ended up overhearing everything. I didn't know you four knew each other from back then. It's all so touching… I can't stop crying!"

Jaymes does his best to stall the flood on Yuuki's face. "You have to stop, because if you don't, Koharu is going to start crying, and that's a mess!"

"What do you think we should do about it? Should we just watch over them?"

Yuuki shakes her head. "I think we should do something about it like you said earlier! We can't leave them like that. Let's help them get close!"

Klein holds his fist up, fueled with motivation. "Yeah! It might not be our place, but that's what friends are for!"

"Hmm, easier said than done," Koharu says. "How can we do that without making things awkward for them?"

Yuuki turns to Jaymes. "How did you woo the lovely Koharu? Surely not with horrible one-liners."

Jaymes turns crimson, a testament to his nickname."W-Woo? You mean... Remember I gave her the blue flowers last winter during that festival event. That's not going to work now… Klein, what about that plan you mentioned?"

"Hehehe! Klein's time to shine! Take a look at this!" As if he'd been waiting for the moment, Klein pulls a flyer from his trunks and shows it to Koharu and the others.

"A flyer… Oh, it's about the release of Castle Town of a Thousand Serpents, the new event map."

Klein nods and points to a specific part of the flyer. "Check out what's printed at the bottom."

"An open beta test for a new haunted attraction area… Oh, it says it starts today."

"I hear that area doesn't have any quests or enemies implemented yet. It's rumored to be completely empty."

"...Cardinal is tossing us a bone for once?"

"So what does that mean?"

"It means we can make our own haunted attraction!"

"Oh, I see," Yuuki exclaims. "So you're going to encourage intimacy using the psychology of fear and the suspension bridge effect! Veeeery nice, Klein. That plan is probably the fastest way to get them closer!"

"Heheh! Couldn't have said it better myself!"

Yuuki inspects the flyer for herself. "Hey, it looks like this shop is selling ghost avatars."

"Ooh, that'll be useful in scaring them...and other pair to make the attraction legit." Klein and Yuuki's eyes turn on Koharu and Jaymes. Koharu looks back, confused about what they're staring at them for, then Yuuki's words make sense and hit her like a thrown rock.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Whaaaaaaat?"

"Yuuki…"

"Nope, don't wanna hear it from you, Jaymes! Klein, let's go gather the required materials for the avatars together."

"All right!"

Jaymes steps forward. "But wait, isn't this--"

Klein clicks his tongue and points accusatory at Jaymes. "I told you, this is for your future sake as well, plus we need to make this good. You two sit tight and pretend you don't know anything! Let me message the others too..."

As Klein and Yuuki depart, Koharu looks at her partner, who looks equal parts rejected and annoyed. She smiles and steps in front of him. "Let's leave it to them, okay? After all, you did say we should spend this freedom together, right? Let's go play in the water or window shop at the stalls, okay?"

"...I don't get it. You think we're fine as a couple, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but maybe Klein sees something we don't. I mean, I thought Kirito and Asuna were okay, but…"

"You have a point." Jaymes deflates and turns to the ocean, then to Kirito and Asuna. His face changes drastically as she sees the devious thoughts being birthed. "Hey, let's all play in the water. Hey, Asuna!" Koharu watches as Jaymes sprints towards Kirito and Asuna, scooping up the latter in his arms and carrying her to the ocean's edge. Before Kirito or Koharu could stop him, he launches the raging Asuna into the sea. Moments later, when Asuna returns to land and furiously chases after Jaymes, it's his turn to soak in the water. Not wanting to be left out or have one kill the other, Kirito and Koharu join in on the water fun.

All the while, Klein, Yuuki, and their other friends concoct the secret plan to bring Asuna and Kirito, and by extension, Koharu and Jaymes, closer together.