I, Kuroba Sayuki, was born on September 30, 2032 – though I go by Kuroyukihime now.

Well, 'born' is kind of a loose word to describe how I came to this world. Contrary to the normal perception of souls that are born from the natural act of union and mating of two people, I was instead 'created'.

My mother… no, that devious woman, Kamura Shikimi, attempted to create what would be known as an artificial existence. The process wasn't exactly normal. I was created in an artificial womb, not even that of hers, using IVF. I remained there for thirteen months, way longer than the average gestation period, set to come out at a pre-determined date, which was the date I just mentioned.

At that time, the newborn baby's soul was overwritten, and in its place… was me, a Fluctlight that was stolen from a distant world with her memories blocked. Honestly, this feels like that genre of stories that was popular some decades ago.

As such, I really didn't feel like I belonged in this world. Even this birthday of mine felt like it was borrowed from someone else, so we did not celebrate it back home.

That was until fifteen years later. Now, there were many people in Umesato Junior High who knew my birthday. But none of them knew who I really was. They were only obsessed with a superficial version of me, that I created through my butterfly avatar to conceal my scars. On this day, I needed to confide in someone who understood the real me, naked as I was. That was the only way my birthday could carry some meaning in my life.

I decided to go incognito just for today, concealing my butterfly avatar from everyone. I was supposed to meet up with Haruyuki-kun in the lounge, but he was nowhere in sight. Hoping to find him in the school's VR space, I uttered the following command under my breath:

"Direct Link."

A few days ago, I made a pig avatar to match with Haruyuki-kun. Of course, I had to choose the black color to differentiate from him. It's not like I don't know any other color or anything…

I set foot inside the VR space, but as expected, no one seemed to recognize me. A lot of confused voices were shouting about:

"Hey, has anyone seen Kuroyukihime-senpai?"

"She isn't here."

"That's weird, where could she have gone? Would she miss out on her birthday?"

"Okay, seems to be working out well so far. The only obstacle is…"

"Hey, Hime. Where did you go? We were supposed to meet up together."

Megumi could be quite a bit of trouble. If she's really dedicated, she will chase me to the ends of the earth. I can only hope she doesn't find me and recognize this new avatar of mine. I've heard ninjas of the past wear black all over to blend in with their surroundings, but I haven't had that kind of practice yet, so I can only wing it this time and hope for the best.

Well, I say that… but then I run into other problems, like being caught and squeezed by a cat girl.

"Ah, found you, Haru! Are you going to play that stupid game again? Did you forget what day it is today?"

"Chiyuri-kun, are you color blind or something? Wait, don't tell me, did your Neurolinker get infected with a visual masking virus that confuses me for Haruyuki-kun?"

I allowed these useless thoughts to enter my head, when suddenly… a wild Takumu-kun appeared.

"Hey, Chii-chan! Wait, that avatar… is that…"

"Uh oh… Here comes another one.", I thought as he too would mistake me for Haruyuki-kun.

"…Master?"

"Eh? Gyaaaa!"

With a yelp, Chiyuri-kun suddenly let go of me.

"I-Is that really you, Senpai? What, did you really want to dress up like Haru so badly? And what is with that choice of color anyway? It's like copying a certain hedgehog and making him all black."

"I-It's none of your business!"

Well, I suppose I should've been grateful to the 'four-eyes' for immediately recognizing me, but unfortunately, my inner tsun side kicked in at that moment, making me storm out of there.

"Really, what's happening right now?"

"No idea."

I could hear this being said behind me, but I paid no heed and pressed on.

For a long time, I devoted myself completely to Brain Burst, believing I had no place in this world. Ever since I became a Burst Linker at eight years old, my goal was to reach Level 10 and find out what lay beyond my current self, as well as the reason for my existence. Little did I know, I would commit many horrible acts on this path, acts that I committed because I was far too naive.

I allowed myself to be so absorbed by the warmth that White Cosmos… my 'parent' and older sister Enju had given me, that I failed to realize she was setting me up as a traitor. Having lost my only source of light and driven out of my house, I thought I was hopeless.

No… there was another source of light that came before her. I once played the game Cosmos Corrupt before becoming a Burst Linker. Before I became the queen of blades 'Black Lotus', I was once the young and simple-minded 'Black Princess'. In there, I found an avatar of shining white equipped with a sword, named 'White Knight' after a net term used long ago.

The person inside this avatar… let's see, he was clumsy and a bit of an airhead, but he was strong and fast, more than anyone I knew there, and really kind and gentle. If I had to describe it, he would be the ideal knight for a princess like me, who always shied away from people. He was someone I could open up to.

But I couldn't be in his shadow forever, so I tried returning the favor however I could. I inadvertently ended up maxing my attack over my defense as a result. But it was all so I could stand up to him.

Deep down, I desired to meet him in the real world one day, but we were split apart by the game's termination, and our memories of that time were lost. Despite that, I never gave up and continued searching for him.

At first, I thought he came back to Brain Burst as the previous Red King, Red Rider. He once said the same things he did back then, and even wanted to meet me in the real world. But somewhere, there was doubt, since he had a close relationship with Purple Thorn. And I couldn't shake off this feeling inside me… the feeling that was implanted into me by Cosmos, that he was going to destroy the accelerated world and end us all. Before I knew it, I put my blades close to his head and cut it clean.

Back then, I thought all hope had been lost after the act I committed. But fate had not yet turned its back on me. I eventually laid eyes on a boy who stirred something in my heart for some reason, perhaps because he was him. His name was… Arita Haruyuki-kun.

I first took notice of him when he began using a black knight avatar, which I had felt a strange sense of familiarity with, but sooner or later, it was snatched by a bully named Araya and he was forced to use a pig avatar instead. He always ran off to a personal space in the school net to forget about his problems.

That 'stupid game' Chiyuri-kun talked about earlier was a little squash game he used to play every day before becoming a Burst Linker. He kept getting unreasonable scores, dominating the leaderboard every time. When I first saw it, I was so shocked I felt my heart would stop.

I challenged myself to beat it. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never get to his level. I only had one option left.

"Burst Link!"

Yes, I used the forbidden command of acceleration. All for the sake of beating a high school boy in his own game. When I think about it now, that was truly petty of me. But I had no choice. To show him what a fearful power acceleration was and to get him back into the world he was once a part of, I approached him with these words:

"Do you want to accelerate even further, boy? Then come to the lounge at lunchtime tomorrow."

After giving him the necessary drive and the location to meet, I vanished from his sight, wondering whether I was right to approach him. But sure enough, he came to the lounge the next day like I asked him to.

He did what was unthinkable at that time, as the lounge was restricted to second-year and third-year students. Well, I say restricted, but it was more like reserved, as it doesn't seem to be enforced by the school staff. However, the other students did not seem to mind it, even though they were well aware of my status.

My plan to make Haruyuki-kun a Burst Linker went off without a hitch, though it drew a lot of stares from other students, as it required cable linking, something usually done with close friends or lovers. To make him truly mine however, I had to chase out Araya and give him some comfort.

And thus, he was reborn. As Silver Crow, a rare metal color in the accelerated world, almost as rare as my black color was.

I admitted to using him as a pawn to draw out Cyan Pile, the Burst Linker who was out for me back then, but sooner or later, I started to fall in love with him. I succumbed to feelings I thought I would never have, and didn't think I was allowed to have because of the many sins I committed.

However, little did I know, even he had scars that tore too deep into his heart, probably coming from the same place of regret where I got my blade limbs. He was unable to get close to a beautiful girl like me. No… perhaps the mask I'd been wearing kept him from seeing the real me.

Even though I had earnestly reached out to him. Even though I had chased out Araya for him. Even though… Even though…

"Idiot!"

At that point, I had completely lost it and slapped him in a walkway amidst public view. His words that day, they ended up stabbing my heart. Completely ironic, for a girl who has blades for hands. These uncontrollable feelings of mine… they started leaking out one by one, as tears in my eyes.

The icing on the cake was when Araya rammed into us, deciding to take revenge directly. However, I too decided to give it my all, throw away my past deeds and start a new future. And the first step to that, was confessing to him.

"Haruyuki-kun, I love you. I've never felt this way towards anyone before. I couldn't control it at all, and it just confused me. You're always in my mind, and it makes me happy and sad. I guess that's what love feels like."

With a newfound resolve in my heart, I decided to protect him with my life.

"Physical Full Burst!"

After uttering this forbidden command known only to a Level 9, I pushed Haruyuki-kun out of harm's way. The consequences weren't that easy to handle. This took 99% of my Burst Points, and my waist nearly got torn off as a result. But I was happy. For the first time in my life, I got to protect the one I loved.

However, I needed to return to him. I knew he wouldn't be happy if I left him for good after a daring confession like that. To do that, I had to fight hard in the hospital chamber to regain my consciousness.

I then heard that Haruyuki-kun protected me from Cyan Pile, who happened to be his childhood friend Takumu-kun, while I was still in critical condition. And he did it with newly awakened silver wings, born from his – and my – wishes. When I saw those beautiful wings, I was certain. That he would be the one to signal a new era. Together, as Black Lotus and Silver Crow, we decided to challenge the accelerated world once more.

We've been through a lot since then, including settling my vendetta against Cosmos, our battle against her White Legion, as well as the Acceleration Research Society, nearly stopping the end of the accelerated world twice, and recently, a showdown with the two greatest swordsmen of the virtual world.

And now… we have returned. To the starting point. The place where we had our first contact. I saw him just as he was on that day, relentlessly pushing forward, trying to beat my score that I cheated for.

However… just because I cheated doesn't mean I can't work for it.

In the middle of a serve, he nearly missed the ball's trajectory, ending his streak. As he was feeling down, I sent a virtual butterfly his way. He instantly caught hold of it and looked up to me, probably reminiscing about that time just as I was.

"Hi, Haruyuki-kun. I knew I'd find you out here."

Hup!

Unlike before, I jumped from the high platform that was the entrance to this point. After appearing frozen for a few seconds, Haruyuki-kun finally spoke out:

"S-Senpai? I didn't know you were here. And wait, that avatar…"

Ignoring that last comment, I looked at his score.

Level 163. Score 3493567.

He was getting close to beating the record I had set for him. Perhaps he wanted his new score to be his present to me, as a way of repaying me for that time.

"Hmm… So this is what the new Vice President is doing…"

"Umm… that's…"

"You seem to be doing quite well. However…"

But I really could not wait for him any longer. I grew anxious as our time here in this school would be very short. I started a new game and called him, ready to serve.

"Let's settle this right here and now!"

"Wh-What are you saying, Senpai? Are you gonna take me on in a new avatar? And besides, didn't you cheat already?"

"Oh, this avatar gives me a level playing field with you. But don't worry. I won't accelerate. If I do, then you can as well and take my Burst Points as punishment."

"L-Like that's possible…"

Well, my poor joke aside, I felt determined for the first time in a while. It wasn't a Brain Burst duel, so I wonder what it was. The feeling of ecstasy upon facing your 'child' in a contest of speed? Or is it…

"No, I mustn't think about that."

The ball appeared on my side, which meant it was my turn to serve.

And thus, our game began. Though we both started with some nice deflections that the naked eye could both see, as users of acceleration, we kept getting faster. We never used the acceleration command, but we got faster in another way.

Perhaps it was from the continuous amount of time we spent in that world, but our mental clock had regressed to the point where seconds were like hours. It felt like second nature to us. Eventually, the scene became two pigs wildly flailing around the court, trying to reach the ball as fast as they could.

We kept going for about half a minute in real time, deflecting from each side furiously, until…

"Oh no!"

The ball was heading towards me at a speed I could not handle.

"Burst…"

As if the ball sensed my subconscious desire to cheat, it picked up the pace and went for my head.

"Gah!"

"Senpai!"

If this were the real world, I would've gotten a concussion. Luckily in this virtual space, I only felt extreme pain, but I doubt whether my brain could handle that. Though Haruyuki-kun himself attempted to dodge some speeding bullets using an illegal patch a while back. Quite a crazy fellow, he was.

"I… I'm fine.", I sheepishly responded to his worries. "Whew, that was really intense."

"Yes, it was… Senpai put up quite a fight, even without accelerating."

"Don't be so modest. The student has surpassed his master at her best. You should try to be proud of that, instead of beating that ridiculous score."

"R-Right…"

"…Or are you still unsatisfied? If so, then we can always have that duel to test our full abilities."

I was referring to the duel we promised each other when he got close to Level 9 in Brain Burst, to end our master-student relationship and stand as equals. After witnessing his magnificent swordfight with Takumu-kun when they were both Level 7, I just couldn't help but seize an opportunity for myself… though Fuuko and Seri decided to jump in as well.

"N-N-No please! I'm not ready for that yet!", he stuttered before finally remembering what he was supposed to do. "Oh yeah, there's something I wanted to give you. Though I'd prefer if… we met on the rooftops."

"Hmm…"

After staring at him suspiciously, I finally gave in with a sigh.

"Alright. Link Out."

I logged out and then went to the agreed upon meeting place. What could he have in store for me, I wonder?

"Though he is taking too long to get here. He isn't even on the rooftops to begin with. Which means-"

"Ah, sorry for the wait, Senpai!"

He arrived just as soon as I thought that, which made me a little angry.

"Come on, I thought you were here already! If you're going to give a girl a present, you shouldn't keep her waiting!"

"Well… I just thought of this place on the spot, and Senpai got here earlier than expected…"

"Hmph!", I turned my head away from him.

Well, I suppose no matter how much time passes, Haruyuki-kun will always be Haruyuki-kun. There wasn't any point in staying angry, because he was going to remain the same bumbling idiot that I fell in love with.

"Well, anyways…"

He opened a small box, and in it was a small finger ring, with what appeared to be crow wings etched into it. No, the shape was a little different.

"Happy birthday, Se… I mean, Sayuki-san."

"Sayuki-san, huh…"

While I was in the hospital, I told Haruyuki-kun my real name, hoping that by sharing the name I've hidden from the school, we could get close enough to the point of being called 'friends' instead of 'accomplices'. However, it took a long time for him to get used to calling me that, almost as if he was afraid of approaching me, and he was instead referring to me as 'Kuroyukihime-senpai' till now.

…Though looking back, I probably chose the name 'Kuroyukihime' for him. It was Megumi's idea by taking the 'kuro' and 'yuki' in my name, which sounded embarrassing at first, but… I kind of liked it. Maybe because… a certain someone used to call me that long ago.

"Oh uh… I just happen to have a matching item. Here."

He then pulled something out of his pocket. It was a similar ring, but the wings were etched in the opposite direction. When you put them close together, you get the wings of a butterfly. He must have thought these rings were a symbol of our unity.

"Pfft… Hahahahaha! You never cease to amaze me with your creativity!"

"N-No, it's not like that! It's just… I just wanted to say that I would always be with Sayuki-san no matter…"

I was really happy, for both the gift, and the fact that he started calling me by my real name, finally accepting the me that fell in love with him.

After a year, no, it was more than a year for us, my honest feelings have finally been received by him. I was going through a wide array of uncontrollable emotions right now, just as I did that day. Luckily, there was no one else here, so I went ahead and… kissed him.

Yes, he allowed my tender lips to touch his. It was only for a few seconds, but for me, it was a magical moment of bliss that lasted me an eternity.

It's a little embarrassing to do it in front of the Social Cameras, but almost the whole school knows we're dating now, so it didn't matter in the end. A first kiss takes a lot of courage, which Haruyuki-kun did not have unfortunately, so I had to steal the opportunity for now. Though it seemed to raise his body heat a little. Seeing this, I poked his chest playfully and said:

"Haruyuki-kun, from this time last year to now, I offered my hand out to you and only you. And now… you're slowly crossing those two virtual meters. Keep at it, and come ever closer to me."

"Sen-"

He quickly reverted to what he was used to calling me, so I shot back at him with a fierce look.

"Understood."

We touched the fingers holding our rings and made a solemn vow.

"I will be the wings that carry you to the end."

"And I will be the blades that cut down any obstacle in our path."

We both raised our hands to the sun in unison, firmly demonstrating our resolve.

"Together, we will seize the horizon!"

But apparently, Haruyuki-kun didn't think it was over with that.

"Ummm… can you… come with me after school today?"

Misinterpreting his request as wanting to spend the day in his house, I replied:

"W-What? If you mean we're gonna do that kind of stuff immediately, then-"

"No, not that!"

He took hold of my hand – to borrow Ash's lingo, a sign that he's mega-serious – and said:

"…Please. There's a place I want to show you."

I turned my eyes away from him awkwardly before accepting his request, a little relieved that he had something else in mind.

"Well… alright then."

Just then:

"Found you, Haru!"

"Hime, what are you doing here?"

Suddenly, Chiyuri-kun and Megumi arrived as if they knew where we were. Honestly, we can never have a proper date with our overbearing friends around.

"Don't tell me you were having alone time with him? What about your promise to me? Did you forget about that?"

"N-No, I wouldn't do such a-"

"To compensate, you're spending the rest of lunchtime with me!"

Megumi seemed to be getting a lot more aggressive lately, as she has never been able to intimidate me like this before. Does she share some secret communication line with Fuuko, I wonder?