Yo, this is the 65th chapter.

So I have decided Kirito would have a harem in the Underworld. As with the harem has four members in the Elemental Nations, I don't want the harem to grow too big, preferably under 7 girls.

So for now, the confirmed ones are Sortiliena and Ronye.

As such, I will consider adding a third girl. And as I said I will bring Rain in, but she will not be a harem member, as I want Rain to take on more of a sister relationship with Kirito and Eugeo.

So if there is a third member, it will be Alice, or no 3rd harem member from the UW at all. So, what do you guys think?

Should I have Alice be with Kirito, along with Liena and Ronye? Or have Alice be with Eugeo, along with Tiesse and Selka?

So yeah, gimme your opinions, and with that aside, here's the chapter.

XXX

A few days later, Liena was leaning against one of the railings on the balcony on one of the higher floors in the academy.

After Kirito had defeated Volo, they had went to celebrate his victory, even though the young man himself had said it wasn't necessary.

But everyone wanted to, in fact, it was necessary to them, as Kirito was a first year student, and Volo was a second year student, the head of the Elite Swordsman-in-Training, to top it off.

The woman let out a breath. She closed her eyes, replaying the scene where Kirito easily out maneuvered the strongest swordsman in the academy.

The woman wouldn't lie, she was somewhat jealous of her Valet. For months, ever since they started attending the academy, Liena had been trying hard to surpass Volo Levantein.

Whenever she had the chance, Liena would challenge Volo to a spar. Not once, had she came out the victor.

Yet here was Kirito, a man that was at least a year younger than she was, a first year student, not from a noble family, instead from the edge of Centoria itself, coming into the academy and defeating Volo.

Sortiliena was very proud of her Valet, that was evident. But that small part of her just couldn't help but feel jealous of him.

The woman sighed, it just felt so complicated when it came to Kirito. She cared for him very much, the time they spent as mentor and valet had forged a bond between them, that was obvious, but she still didn't know how she really felt.

Before Liena could continue, a voice broke her from her thoughts, "What are you doing here, Liena?"

The brunette turned her head, noticing Ran standing behind her. Liena smiled softly, "Hey."

Ran smiled back, before noticing her friend's face, and she asked, her smile fading, "What's wrong?"

Liena looked back over the streets, "It's nothing, really, just some stuff on my mind."

Ran went to stand beside Liena, leaning on the railings as well, "Is it about Kirito?"

The taller woman's eyes widened, and she immediately started to deny, "W-what?! No! Why would I be thinking about Kirito?!"

Ran smiled slyly, "Yup, you are thinking about him."

Liena blinked, gaping at her, before she sighed and shook her head. After a short pause, Liena nodded, "I suppose I am..."

Ran nodded, before she asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

The taller girl hesitated for a moment, before she nodded, "You know Kirito defeated Volo, right?"

Ran nodded before she asked, "Yeah, why?"

Liena let out a breath, "The past year, I've been trying my best, doing everything I could so that I could beat him... But..."

The shorter brunette nodded, "But Kirito, your valet and junior, came out of nowhere and defeated him in less than ten minutes."

The second seat of the Elite Swordsman-in-Training nodded silently. Ran sighed, "You know, I won't say I understand how you feel, but just go get him to spar with you at full strength then."

Liena blinked, "W-what?"

Ran smiled, "You feel lost, because someone beat you to defeating Volo. Then all you need to do is fight the one who defeated Volo, right?"

Liena blinked. She blinked again, and she palmed her face, "I'm an idiot."

Ran grinned before she asked, "But seriously, what do you think of him?"

Liena looked at her friend confusedly, "What do you mean?"

Ran's smile softened, "You care for Kirito more than just a friend, right?"

The taller woman blushed and she looked away, "What are you talking about?!"

Ran sighed, the smile not leaving her face, "You know, I know how you look at him when you think no one is looking."

Liena's blush darkened, before she asked, "Why are we even bringing this up?!"

Ran's face turned serious, "Because Kirito is going places, and he's going far. You should know as well as I do. And when he does, I don't want you to regret anything."

Liena closed her eyes. Ran wasn't wrong. Kirito had a very bright future laid out for him, he may have came from a very small village, but he was guaranteed to reach high places as a knight.

As for Liena herself, sure, her parents would let her serve as a knight or swordswoman for a short while, but then she'd most likely be married off to a noble to strengthen ties between her family and another noble.

The woman sighed and lowered her head, "I'm... confused, to be honest..."

Ran stayed silent, letting her friend continue. Liena let out a breath, "In the beginning, Kirito was like the little brother I never had, but then I found out he was holding back, and I urged him to show me everything he could do."

The woman closed her eyes, "But then time passed, and I got to know him more..."

Ran nodded, "And he wasn't exactly what you thought he would be."

Liena smiled, "Better than what I thought he would be. He's humble, his dream is simple but admirable, and..."

The shorter brunette nodded, "You feel drawn to him."

The taller woman nodded, "I suppose so."

Ran nodded, before she glanced at Liena, "So, what are you gonna do about it?"

The young lady blinked at her friend, "What?"

Ran smiled slyly, "You've sorted out how you feel, so what are you gonna do about that?"

Liena blushed slightly and she looked over the streets, "I... don't know."

Ran turned, leaning her back against the railings instead, "Hmm..."

The girl grinned and looked at her friend, "How about you leave it to me?"

Liena blinked several times, "Huh?"

Ran's grin widened, "Meet up at the training hall tomorrow morning, and we'll help you get things going."

Liena only blinked in confusion as Ran left the balcony, leaving her alone again.

(linebreak)

The next day, Liena, Kirito and Ran were in their usual training hall. Kirito asked as they entered, "So, what's up?"

Ran grinned as they reached the center of the hall, "We're gonna have a bet."

Kirito and Liena blinked, the latter asking, "A bet?"

Ran nodded as she looked at Kirito, "Kirito, you defeated Volo, so how about you fight Liena without holding back?"

Kirito blinked, "Okay?"

Ran grinned, "And if you win, you'll go on a date with Liena, if you lose, you'll still go on a date with her."

Liena gaped at her friend, "W-what?! Don't I get a say in this?!"

The shorter girl just grinned, "Nope. Besides, you don't want to go on a date with Kirito?"

Liena froze momentarily, before her face lit up and she said quietly, "... Its not like I don't want to..."

Kirito only blinked, speechless, as Ran grinned, "Then that settles it! Kirito, if you win, you take her on the date, if you lose, you'll take her on a date AND do whatever she tells you to."

The younger man sighed mentally, it would seem that Ran was rather set on playing match-maker, and well, he guessed he just had to follow along.

Kirito nodded as he looked at his mentor, "Alright, so, Liena-senpai, how do you wanna do this?"

Liena shook out of her stupor and nodded, "If its okay with you, I would like to have a full contact spar with our real swords."

Kirito's eyes slightly widened before he nodded, "Okay.."

Liena nodded as she brought out her rapier and whip, as Kirito drew his Night Sky Sword.

Ran grinned, "Alright, so, considering this is an unofficial spar, I'll be the referee, alright?"

Both mentor/mentee nodded, and Ran announced, "Begin!"

Without another second, Liena dashed forward with her rapier, thrusting it forward. Kirito narrowed his eyes as he twisted his body, dodging the stab before he rolled away on the ground to avoid her whip.

The teen tried to regather himself but Liena didn't let up, stabbing at him when he was within her range, or using her whip when he wasn't.

Kirito tch'd, dodging another strike from the whip before he dashed forward, sending a downward slash to his mentor.

Liena dodged the slash, but before she could counter, Kirito spun, sending a horizontal slash at her. This time, the woman cursed, as her body couldn't dodge the attack in time.

Instead, she lifted her rapier, blocking the strike, careful to redirect it slightly so it wouldn't damage her sword too much.

But Kirito wasn't done, not letting up for even a split second, Kirito spun the opposite direction, sending a sweep kick at his mentor.

The woman never saw it coming, as she fell backwards. But Liena wouldn't be the second seat of the academy's elite students if she let that deter her.

With flexibility that almost seemed impossible, Liena flipped backwards, kicking Kirito in the chin at the same time as she backed away.

The teen stumbled backwards, rubbing his chin painfully as he glared lightly at his mentor, who only stared back passively, though he could see the not-so-apologetic glint in her eyes.

Kirito brandished his sword and charged, swinging it downwards. Liena, as expected, raised her rapier to redirect/block it, but to her surprise, Kirito merely glazed her blade as he swung down, before pulling it back up in the next split second.

That caught the young woman off guard, as she tried to recover herself from her open guard. But she was a tad bit too late, as Kirito's sword struck her own hard, sending her stumbling backwards.

Then, right as Liena managed to steady her footing, Kirito was in front of her yet again, but she had somewhat expected that to happen. As Kirito swung his blade, Liena leaned back just to dodge the slash, before she jumped away to avoid another slash.

The tall woman let out a breath, her eyes not leaving her junior at all. Not wanting to waste a second, Liena lashed her whip at Kirito, managing to somehow binding it to his sword arm at the wrist.

The teen grunted in surprise as Liena pulled, causing him to lurch forward to the ground.

Liena took advantage and tried to advance onto her Valet, but before she could position herself to make him yield, Kirito rolled back to his feet, right in front of her.

To her surprise, Kirito thrust his sword at her throat, but Liena quickly snapped out of her surprise and used her whip to pull Kirito off balance, sending him sprawling to the ground again.

The teen cursed himself for his carelessness as he gripped the whip with his left arm, slowly pulling himself back to his feet.

But before Kirito could stand up again, Liena charged forward with her sword. The younger man managed to block the strike, struggling against the whip and Liena's sword.

Kirito grunted, smirking, "This is getting really annoying, Liena-senpai."

The woman just smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Kirito's smirk widened, "But that's the end of that."

Liena frowned before her eyes widened and she yelped as Kirito pulled back, rolling to the ground, flipping her onto the ground at the same time.

A rather unorthodox move, but it still worked anyway, as Liena lost her grip on her whip and Kirito quickly threw it away to a side, massaging his wrist as he did so.

Liena frowned, as she lost her other weapon. Kirito wouldn't let her get it back anyways, so she'd just have to fight with her rapier.

Deciding to go on offense before Kirito could do anything, the elder woman charged forward, thrusting her sword at his chest.

The teen gripped his sword with both hands, parrying the strike before he pulled his sword down at Liena's waist. But the woman was quick on her feet, jumping away to a side before Kirito could swing his blade.

Liena let out a breath as she stared at Kirito, who merely retook his stance, facing her.

After a few seconds, which seemed lime eternity for the both of them, Liena charged, allowing mana to flow into her blade, "Serlut style: Streak!"

As with most of the sword skills used by his seniors, Kirito immediately knew what was coming. A diagonal slash.

Pulling his legs back, positioning his sword at his waist facing downwards, and right as Liena's sword reached him, Kirito announced, "Aincrad style: Full Counter."

In that instant, Kirito pulled his blade up, the Night Sky sword glowing bright red, parrying Liena's sword, sending it flying out of her hand. But the skill did more than that.

Full Counter was a counter skill, one that reflected the enemies attack back at them with more than its full power. According to Bercouli, it could reflect not just physical attacks, but magical attacks as well. Though unfortunately, Kirito had yet to learn to deflect the latter.

Back to the fight, Liena's eyes widened, as she felt pain course through her body and fell backwards. Of course, as it was just a simple spar, Kirito didn't reflect all of the damage, only a quarter of it, but it was enough.

Before Liena realized it, Kirito had wrapped his arms around her waist, stopping her from falling any further. The woman blushed, before she realized Kirito had his sword pointed at her throat.

Kirito grinned, "I win, Liena-senpai."

The brunette was rather shocked at what just happened. But before she could say anything, they heard cheers coming from a side, and the two glanced over to that direction to see a small audience, some of them grinning slyly, Ran being one of them.

Only then did the two realize their current positions, causing both of their faces to heat up, and they quickly separated.

Liena cleared her throat as she said quietly, "Umm, thank you for the spar, Kirito."

Kirito nodded stiffly, "Y-yes, and ermm... Sorry for that."

Liena shook her head, "It's fine..."

As the two stood there awkwardly, Ran decided to help them and turned to the small audience and yelled, "Alright, show's over! Now get outta here!"

With little effort, the shorter brunette managed to get the small audience to leave the hall, and as she left the hall herself, at the door, Ran turned and yelled, "And Kirito, you still have to take Liena on that date, capiche?"

Kirito only nodded silently as Ran closed the door, leaving the pair alone again.

After a painful moment of silence, Kirito spoke up, "So umm, about what Ran-senpai said... I mean, we don't need to do it if you don't want to."

Liena's face heated up slightly, and she berated herself for feeling and acting like this. The young woman steeled herself and she shook her head, "No, I... I want to."

Kirito blinked, genuinely surprised when Liena looked at him straight in the eye. The teen felt his face heat up and he nodded, "O-okay."

Liena smiled, trying her best to stop herself from freaking out, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, then, alright?"

Kirito nodded dumbly, "Y-yeah, I'll see you at the town square then."

Liena nodded and she quickly turned and left the hall, leaving Kirito alone in the hall, before the teen left to head for his room.

(linebreak)

Later that night, Eugeo and Kirito were in a restaurant, having dinner.

As they ate, Eugeo looked at his brother with a sly grin, "So, what's this about you going on a date with Liena-senpai?"

Kirito's eyes widened at the question and he coughed, almost choking on his food. The teen glared at his brother as he coughed to clear his throat, "W-why are you bringing that up?"

Eugeo chuckled as Kirito drank from his cup, "Well, it's not a secret that you challenged her to a spar for a date."

Kirito gaped before he denied, "That's not what happened! Ran-senpai put us up to it!"

Eugeo chuckled, "That's not what everyone says. In fact, I heard you ended the spar with her in your arms. Gotta say bro, not bad."

Kirito's face heated up, and he glared at Eugeo, "Just drop it!"

The blonde chuckled, taking a bite from his plate, "Sure sure..."

Kirito let out a breath as he put down his fork and spoon, "But to be honest, I have no idea what to do tomorrow."

Eugeo raised an eyebrow, "So you have nothing planned?"

Kirito shook his head, "I told you, Ran-senpai set it up."

The blonde wiped his mouth before he suggested, "Hmm, how bout we ask Yuuki then?"

Kirito blinked several times, before he said in a deadpanned manner, "No."

Eugeo furrowed his brows, "Eh? Why not?"

Kirito just went back to eating, "No. Just no."

Eugeo just chuckled with an amused grin as they quickly finished eating.

(Small linebreak)

After finishing their dinner, Kirito and Eugeo left the restaurant. As they walked, Eugeo asked, still grinning, "You sure you don't wanna ask Yuuki for help?"

Kirito frowned slightly, "No."

Eugeo's grin widened, "You sure?"

The black haired teen quickened his pace, "No."

Eugeo increased his footsteps to walk beside Kirito, "Really?"

Kirito growled, "Yes! Now drop it!"

Eugeo laughed before he spotted someone familiar walking on the streets, "Alright alright, we won't ask Yuuki for help, we'll ask Sumeragi-senpai."

Kirito blinked, "Wait, what?"

Before he could do anything, Eugeo jogged away. Kirito growled, "Dammit Eugeo!"

He was a tad bit too late, as Eugeo approached the older man, "Sumeragi-senpai!"

The bluenette blinked, "Hmm, oh, hey."

The blonde stopped in front of the katana user, "Sumeragi-senpai, we need your help."

The tall man raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

The two heard Kirito yell as the teen ran to them, "It's nothing! Eugeo shut up!"

The black haired teen tried to grab his brother to keep him quiet, but the blonde, in an impressive display of hand-to-hand, managed to keep Kirito away as he grinned at Sumeragi, "Well, Kirito's gonna take Liena-senpai on a date tomorrow, but he has no idea what to do."

Kirito sighed, slumping and releasing his hold on his brother. As he did so, Sumeragi gave him an amused smile, "Oh, yeah, I heard about that. Well, good job, Kirito, don't worry, we'll help you sort things out."

Kirito blinked, "We?"

(Small linebreak)

That lead their current situation. Gorgolosso, Eugeo, Kirito and Sumeragi were in Eugeo and Kirito's room at the table.

Kirito resisted the urge to facepalm, "Why are we doing this actually?"

Eugeo snapped his head at his brother in mock surprise, "Kirito! We're helping you plan what you should do with Liena-senpai on your date tomorrow!"

Sumeragi stared at him with an amused smirk. To be frank he was just here to mess with the teen, but hey, it wouldn't hurt to actually help the guy out.

As for Gorgolosso, he was just dragged in by Sumeragi and Eugeo, though he decided he'd just help Kirito out, even if he wouldn't be of much help.

Kirito sighed, "So, what do you guys have in mind?"

Sumeragi and Eugeo grinned, while Gorgolosso chuckled as they started discussing.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, Liena was facing a similar predicament in her own room, with Ran, Seven and Yuuki.

Ran grinned, "So, what're you planning to do tomorrow?"

Liena sighed, "I... have no idea."

Seven rested her head on her arm, "Well, that is, if Kirito doesn't have anything planned..."

Yuuki laughed lightly, "Knowing him, I doubt it, but who knows? Maybe he'll pull out something nice? I mean, its Liena-senpai we're talking about."

Liena just blushed, and tried to hide herself into her blouse. Ran laughed, "Well, probably, but we have something more important."

Liena glanced at her friend confusedly, "What do you mean?"

Ran grinned, "You need something nice to wear."

Seven's face lit up, "Definitely! Let's see what you have."

Liena wanted to protest, but her two friends had already gone to her wardrobe, tossing out a number of her uniforms as they searched for clothing.

Yuuki just laughed at the taller brunette who just sighed before they joined to make sure Ran and Seven didn't destroy the room.

(linebreak)

The next day, Kirito was at the two square, wearing a simple hoodie and long pants.

The teen was rather nervous, not sure if what he planned would turn out fine.

But before he could further ponder on his plans, he heard Liena's voice, "Kirito?"

The teen blinked, and he turned to see Liena, wearing a simple violet dress with her hair let down. Kirito froze, before mentally smacking himself in the head and spoke, "Hey, Liena-senpai, y-you look great."

Sortiliena resisted the urge to blush as she suddenly found the ground very interesting, "T-thanks..."

The young woman forced herself to look up again and said, "So, shall we go?"

Kirito nodded, before the two walked beside each other with a slightly awkward atmosphere.

(meanwhile)

At a corner behind a building, Ran, Yuuki, Seven, Eugeo, Sumeragi, Gorgolosso, Tecchi, Jun, Talken, Nori and Siune were spying on the pair.

Jun grumbled, "Why are we here?"

Nori glared at the teen, "Shut it, we don't wanna let them know we're watching them."

Talken sighed, "More like spying on them... Seriously, just let them enjoy their time alone."

Sumeragi chuckled, leaning on the wall, "Just give up, they'll drag you everywhere until they get a boyfriend themselves, which, might not happen in some time now."

Ran glared at her classmate, "Did you say anything, Sumeragi?"

The blue haired man smiled nervously from the glare, "N-no..."

Ran nodded with satisfaction as she turned back to watch them, only to find them gone. The brunette glared at the man, "See! Now we lost them! Let's go!"

Sumeragi sighed, "And now its my fault."

As everyone moved, Gorgolosso and Eugeo patted the man on the shoulder, with the former commenting, "And that is why we stay silent and follow them. It's a free day for us anyways."

Sumeragi sighed, ignoring Eugeo's laughter as he followed after the group.

(Linebreak)

Back with Kirito and Liena, as they walked along the streets, the brunette asked, "So... Kirito, where are we going?"

Kirito smiled, "Somewhere I think you'll like."

Liena stared at him in confusion for a short while before she decided to wait and see where they were going.

Soon, the pair stopped in front of a rather new-looking store, and Liena's face visibly brightened up.

The reason?

It was a simple pet store. A newly opened one in fact. During the discussion with Sumeragi and Gorgolosso last night, the two senior swordsmen had told Kirito of Liena's not-so-secret love of animals and books.

The katana user also happened to saw the new shop setting up yesterday, and had told Kirito about it.

The woman turned to Kirito, "This wasn't here before, how did you know I liked pets?"

Kirito grinned, "Well..."

Liena's smile didn't go away, "Lemme guess, Sumeragi and Gorgolosso?"

The teen chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, they kinda told me about that."

Liena nodded, but she was more focused on the puppies and kittens on display behind the glass.

Kirito smiled, finding the sight from his usually serious mentor rather cute, before he spoke up, "Come on, let's go in and have a look."

Liena didn't hesitate as she went into the shop, and Kirito followed after her.

As the woman looked around the shop, she sighed, "If only we could keep pets in the dorms..."

Kirito chuckled, "You're graduating soon, right? I'll get you one as a graduation present."

Liena sighed, "But my parents won't allow it, always nagging about how pets would dirty the house..."

The woman pouted at Kirito, "Its not like I'll leave them all dirty or something!"

The teen smiled, "Well, I suppose we can work something out in the future."

Liena let out a sigh, "Hopefully..."

Kirito chuckled before he remembered something Sumeragi told him, "Hey, senpai, I just remembered something. Can you wait for a sec?"

Liena blinked, slightly confused, "Okay?"

Kirito grinned and went to the cashier, where the shopkeeper was at, and after a few words between them, the two shared a smile and Kirito beckoned Liena to go to them.

As Liena approached them, she asked, "What's wrong, Kirito?"

Kirito didn't answer, instead, it was the shop keeper, "Yeah, well, we have a new section in our shop. See, some customers don't know if the pet is suited for them, so we thought about having a section to let the customers play with our pets, before they make their decision."

Liena's face visibly brightened up even more, "You mean I can play with them for a while?"

The shopkeeper nodded, "Of course, come with me."

Liena beamed, as the shopkeeper lead the two of them behind the shop, entering a rather large play area, obviously for the pets.

The shopkeeper smiled, "Just wait for a moment, alright?"

Liena nodded, as the shopkeeper went to release some of the animals from their cages, before signalling to Liena that she could play with them.

Liena glanced at Kirito, who just nodded, before she proceeded to play around with the animals.

As Liena played around with the animals, the shopkeeper went to stand by Kirito, and the teen said, "Thank you, owner."

The shopkeeper laughed, "Anytime, son. It warms my heart to know that there are people who love animals as much as I do. Something like this is nothing."

Kirito smiled, "Yeah..."

The man chuckled, "More importantly, you're on a date with her, right?"

Kirito blinked, "How did you know?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, "Its pretty obvious. And lemme guess, first date?"

Kirito nodded, "Y-yeah..."

The man chuckled and patted Kirito's shoulder, "Good luck, my boy. From what I can see now, you're doing a fine job. Besides, she's a pretty great catch, don't let her slip away."

Kirito smiled softly, finding Liena's happy face as she played with a puppy rather adorable, "Yeah, I hope so."

The man chuckled and turned, "Okay, I need to get back outside, tell me when you're done, alright?"

Kirito nodded, "Of course, thanks, owner."

The man waved it off as he left the room, "Sure."

After that, Kirito turned back to watching Liena, and for a brief moment, he felt a sharp pain in his back, and he for a brief instant, instead of Liena alone, he saw four girls playing with the animals, one with long blonde hair in twin tails, one with long chestnut coloured hair, another with short black hair and one with short brown hair.

Kirito grunted softly in pain as he shook his head, before looking back to see Liena there again. The teen frowned to himself, 'That again?'

Kirito growled to himself, he really needed to find out who those girls were, and soon, it was getting really annoying. But the teen forced himself to calm down, and instead to focus on his date.

(short linebreak)

Soon, after around half an hour, Kirito and Liena left the shop, with the young lady blushing slightly, "I'm sorry for making you wait, Kirito... I mean, we're on a date and-"

Kirito chuckled, "It's okay, I wanted to bring you here, and besides, watching you have fun it enough."

The older woman couldn't help but blush slightly at those words, and she just nodded, "Y-yeah..."

Kirito smiled as he glanced at the clock tower, "Come on, its about lunch time, what do you wanna eat?"

Liena furrowed her brows, before she remembered a shop she had wanted to try in a while, and a smile graced her face before she pulled Kirito's arm, "I know just the place."

Kirito blinked as she just pulled him along along the streets, though he found himself smiling as he was dragged by his mentor.

Soon, the pair arrived at a restaurant. The two quickly ordered the food, and they talked about random things.

As they waited for the food, Liena asked, "Hey, Kirito, I've been meaning to ask, what would you do after you meet that person you're trying to find in the church?"

Kirito leaned back into his chair, "That, huh?"

Bercouli's words immediately came to mind, and he spoke out, "I'll most likely be a knight, it's what I originally wanted to do anyways."

Liena smiled softly, "I see."

Kirito then looked at his mentor, "What about you?"

The woman blinked at the question, before she smiled wistfully, "I want to be a trainer, but I don't think it'll last long."

Kirito tilted his head in confusion, "Why?"

Liena sighed, "My parents, especially my father, while they allowed me to enter the academy, they still want to marry me off to some noble."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

The two sat there in an awkward silence, before Liena spoke up again, "Umm... Kirito?"

The teen glanced at her, "What?"

Liena's face took on a slight red hue, as she glanced at the table, not daring to meet his eyes, "W-what do you think of me?"

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

Liena's face heated up even more, but she steeled herself, gathering courage, "Y-you're not dating anyone, right? I mean..."

Kirito's face heated up a bit, getting where she was going. But before he could answer, flashes of the images he saw earlier came back to his mind, including Alice.

Kirito frowned. No, he couldn't just accept Liena's feelings, not when he wasn't sure he could really return them. He couldn't do that to her, at least, until he found out who those four girls were, or at least until he reached Alice.

The teen took a breath, "I'm sorry, Liena-senpai... I... I have some circumstances I can't tell you, at least, not now. So I can't return your feelings, not now."

The young woman held back a breath, as if everything threatened to crash down around her.

Kirito looked at her in the eye, obviously seeing what Liena was feeling now, "I really appreciate it, but I need to sort things out before I can give you an answer."

Liena looked down at the table. It wasn't a rejection. The woman nodded, "I understand. I'll wait, for you."

Liena's eyes took on a teasing glint as she added, "But don't make me wait so long, okay? Girls will only wait for so long."

Kirito blinked, feeling a warm feeling in his stomach, before he chuckled, "Thank you, Liena-senpai."

Liena just smiled, and as if on cue, the waiter brought their food, setting down on the table.

The waiter nodded as he set the plates down, "Here is your food, please enjoy your meal."

Kirito and Liena nodded their thanks, before they started eating as the waiter left to resume his duties, the two of them blissfully unaware of the huge bunch of stalkers watching them from a corner.

(meanwhile)

With said bunch of stalkers, Ran frowned, "Why aren't the both of them doing anything?"

Sumeragi sighed, before he saw Liena stiffened slightly before she relaxed, 'What are they talking about?'

The swordsman mentally sighed, why was he even thinking about that. All of them were essentially invading Kirito and Liena's privacy.

And to be honest he didn't want to waste any more time here. Sumeragi sighed, "Hey, I think we should stop following them."

Nori and Ran both snapped their heads at him, the latter asking, "Why?"

The katana user let out a breath, "You do know what we're doing, is essentially trespassing on their privacy, right? You can just get them to tell you what happened."

Ran and Nori wanted to protest, but Gorgolosso added in, "That's true, let's just stop. We're wasting our time, and if they find out, it'll just ruin their time."

The last point shut them up, and Ran sighed, "Okay, fine. Let's stop and go home."

Eugeo had a relieved smile, one shared by Talken, Jun and Tecchi, as the group disbanded and went back to their respective homes.

(linebreak)

After their lunch, Kirito and Liena wandered around the streets, visiting the bookstore, before strolling around the streets aimlessly.

Now, in the evening, they were at Liena's door. The woman smiled at Kirito, "Thank you, Kirito. I had fun today."

Kirito smiled softly, "Yeah, me too."

Liena nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

The teen nodded, "Yeah."

The young lady nodded as she softly closed the door behind her, and Kirito turned to head back home.

As he walked home, Kirito's mind wandered off, eventually coming to Liena's words earlier. To be frank, he was rather angry with himself for not accepting them, for not telling her he felt the same.

But at the same time, Kirito was frustrated. The four girls that popped up in his mind from time to time. He knew them, but he didn't know where he met them. And he was definitely sure they were very important to him.

The teen sighed, realising that he had stopped in front of his door. He shook his head, shaking away and pushing those thoughts for the future. He'd deal with them when he could.

Kirito brought out his keys and opened the door, seeing Eugeo on the couch reading a book.

The blonde smiled, "Hey, Kirito. How did it go?"

Kirito smiled as he took off his shoes and locked the door, "It turned out fine, I suppose."

Eugeo nodded, "I see. So, are you two an official thing now?"

The blacked haired teen didn't answet for a moment, before he spoke, "Not really."

Eugeo blinked and he asked, "Why?"

Kirito sighed, turning to his brother, "I'm... confused, for the lack of a better word."

The blonde placed his book down, "What do you mean?"

Kirito sat down beside Eugeo, "You remember how I told about these four girls I'd see in my dreams?"

Eugeo blinked, "You don't mean you rejected her for that? Are you serious?"

Kirito shook his head, "No. I haven't told you, but lately, those images appear in my head, it definitely means something. And I didn't reject her, I just need to sort things out before I am sure I can return her feelings."

Eugeo sighed, "I see. I won't lie and I say I understand you, but at least, you didn't push her away."

Kirito nodded, and Eugeo continued, "But don't keep her waiting too long, alright?"

The black haired teen nodded and he stood up, "I'm gonna shower, okay?"

Eugeo nodded, "Got it."

Kitito headed for the shower, before he headed to bed shortly after that, Liena and those four girls still fresh on his mind.

XXX

Done, review please.

So, here's a bit of development for Liena with Kirito, they won't get together yet, not until I bring in Ronye, or even after bringing Kirito and Eugeo to the Central Cathedral, probably after that. But they will get together.

The next chapter will be Sortiliena and the senior students' graduation etc. Which also means Ronye and Tiesse would debut, along with Rain.

So yeah, look forward to it. Until next time.