Sword Art Online
After The Incident
Chapter 14 – A Mountain Village
I took in a deep breath, taking in the cold and refreshing mountain air. Before my eyes were beautiful yet simple wooden lodge village, all the houses having dim lighting in their windows, and smoke coming out of their furnaces on their roofs.
Everywhere on the main street, small booths and shops were sat up, from booths with games and prizes, to eating booths with the most interesting and tasty dishes you could think of. The pleasant smells from the different booths, all mixing up into a plethora of aromas, leaving me in a dazed and hungry wonderland.
All around us small and big snow flakes alike fell, some so big you could almost make out the textures, swaying through the air as a gentle but cold breeze blew through the village, making our faces red from cold. We had made sure to stay warm though, by staying close and pressing ourselves against each other to share each other's warmth.
I smiled over at Asuna and she smiled back, her breath whitening and disappearing in the dimly lit atmosphere around us. The street lights shined from above us, making this whole area seem like one big fantasy. It was almost as beautiful as the winters of SAO. Almost.
We enjoyed the moment to the fullest, pulling each other along from shop to shop, looking at everything that was worth checking out. The village might have been small, but the townspeople and the resort workers of the nearby mountain sure knew how to make the village and the surrounding area a lot more interesting.
Speaking of the mountain, it sure was an impressive sight. This wasn´t the tallest in the Himalaya Mountain chain, but it was up there. With at least 2 kilometers of height, it looked like a giant, silently protecting the village with it´s huge mass.
The longer up my gaze wandered the more looming and dark the mountain became, eventually the top was illuminated by the clouds, floating around the top.
It made me smirk on the inside, I was getting excited, even in the peaceful atmosphere. The mountain looked challenging, in fact it looked like one giant challenge, just waiting to be beat. Or at least some of the tracks at the bottom anyway, seeing how I've never skied or snowboarded before my entire life. With that thought I sweatdropped a bit and looked back at Asuna with a soft smile.
"I can´t wait to learn how to stand on a snowboard" I said with a grin. "I´ll probably be a pro by the end of this week!"
"Ehh I don´t think so Kazuto" Asuna said with a soft smile and a giggle "It takes a lot of practice"
"What?" I asked with a confident smirk "You don´t think the black swordsman can be a pro at snowboarding?"
"I would rather see him be deadly on the battlefield, not on the ski slopes"
"That was mean" I mumbled with a pout "I might be a noob, but I´m sure it won´t be that bad"
"Whatever you say hun" Asuna said with a satisfied smirk "Just try not to kill someone when we actually go to the slopes ok? I don´t want you to go to prison"
"It doesn't suit you to be sassy you know" I said with a smile and a rise of an eyebrow.
"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked, looking over at me with a wondering expression.
"You´re better at being cute and shy" I said with a smirk.
I obtained what I wanted, which was a dark red blush from Asuna.
"S-Shut up." She mumbled softly as she covered her cheeks with her hands.
"Hehe, why?" I asked teasingly "Making you embarrassed is my specialty!"
"Well maybe you should focus more on your gaming then!" She retaliated with an adorable pout.
I Just chuckled a bit and wrapped my arm her shoulders, and softly kissed her scalp.
"Sorry Asuna" I said with a smirk "You´re just too adorable when you´re pouting"
"S-Stop it!" She mumbled "You´re doing it again"
"Sorry" I said with another smirk "How can I ever make it up to you?"
"hmm…" She said with a small smile as her blush began to disappear "A mug of hot chocolate could be nice"
"There´s a stand down the street selling drinks "I said with a smile "Here, I´ll show you"
"Why thank you" She said with a smile as she squeezed my hand a little.
We made our way through the crowd of people visiting the village, making our way to the small stand a bit down the street. It looked just like any stand would at a festival at home, except it was made of middle sized logs, and small laminated snow flakes and snowmen was hung up in brightly colored straps everywhere.
"Welcome!" The clerk said with a smile as she finished serving another customer "What can I do for you?"
Her English was a bit sloppy, but it was understandable. I sweatdropped a bit as I realized I didn´t know any English at all, trying to say what we wanted.
"U-Umm a t-two mugs of" I mumbled, nervous I might become confused and mix everything up.
Luckily Asuna knew more English than I did, and luckily she stepped up and helped me, ordering our drinks for me.
"Sure, one second" The clerk said with a bright smile.
She then went further back in her establishment, soon coming back with two big mugs of hot chocolate, the steam rising gently from the mugs.
"Here you go" she said with a smile.
I hasted to pay her and tipped her for her helpfulness, before Asuna and I made our way longer down the street. I took a sip of my chocolate, which was a mistake, since I hadn´t blown on it to cool it down yet.
"Aow! Hot, hot, hot!" I yelled surprised as I jumped around in pain.
I gulped down the chocolate I had sipped into my mouth, which was mistake number two, as I could now feel a hot pain all along my throat.
"Aow, aow!" I yelled as I jumped around like a deranged psychopath "Water! Somebody get me water!"
Asuna giggled and laughed a little as she looked around swiftly for water, quickly turning a tap that was sticking out from one of the stands.
"Here Kazuto!" She said with a laugh.
I dashed over and gave her my mug before taking hold of the tap before drinking three big mouthfuls of water, cooling my throat.
"Oh god!" I mumbled as I finally stopped drinking "I thought I was on fire!"
"Stop overreacting" Asuna said with a mild smile "It can´t have been that bad"
"Oh, but it was" I mumbled as I looked at her "Let´s just drink our chocolate and go see if anything else is interesting"
"Remember Kazuto," She said with a smirk "I still have to pick out an outfit for you"
"I know, I know" I mumbled softly as I hung my head low.
She giggled softly before she handed me my mug and I took it after a couple of deep breaths. I blew at it a bit before hesitantly taking a sip.
"Aww now I can´t taste anything because I burned my tongue!" I said with a pout as I looked down at the brown liquid.
"Aww that´s too bad" Asuna mumbled with a soft expression "You want a kiss to make up for it?"
"That will definitely do it" I said with a smirk as I leaned over to her and pecked on her lips.
"Huh? Not a long kiss?" She asked wonderingly.
"Well, you don´t want people to stare do you?" I whispered in her ear.
I Could almost feel the heat rise in her face, even though I was a bit away from her. I knew she was blushing.
"S-Shut up!" She said as she softly hit my shoulder "I-Idiot!"
"Hey, I´m helping you here!" I said with a chuckle "You should thank me, not beat the living daylight out of me!"
"What did you expect!?" She yelled at me "Saying such an embarrassing thing!"
"My god, you´re such a Tsundere!" I yelled through my laughter, leaving Asuna to proof I was right.
"I am not" She yelled in defense as her cheeks was practically burning up in embarrassment.
"Let´s save this argument for another time shall we?" I said with a grin.
"Fine. You win for now" She said with a pout.
Her pout quickly turned into a smirk though, as she pointed towards something farther down the street.
"Heeey Kazuto…" She mumbled teasingly "Look down there"
I looked at her in wonder and followed her finger, paling a bit as I realized what she was looking at.
"Oh god no…" I mumbled softly as I looked down the street "Not already!"
"Oh yes already!" She giggled softly as she yanked me down the street "Come on! We´re buying new clothes!"
"Oh god. Someone please kill me!" I yelped as she dragged me down the street, almost in a running speed.
"Oh come on Kazuto," Asuna said with a huff "You don't have to be so melodramatic"
"But it´s a clothes store!" I yelled in defense "And it´s with you! It will take hours!"
"No it won´t" She said with a smile "Come on. It´s not that bad"
With this sentence she took a bit of a stronger grip on my hand and dragged me into the store.
"If there really is a god," I mumbled as I looked upwards "May he have mercy with me!"
~A Bit Later~
"I swear," I mumbled sourly "You´re the only person I know who wonders which headband matches the best with your earrings"
I was currently watching Asuna as she was excitedly trying to pick a headband for one of the many outfits she had already decided to try on.
"Stop your bickering" She said with an excited squeal "God this is just too cute!"
She mumbled this as she held up a specific headband, which was made to look like a tiara.
"I have to admit," I mumbled as I looked at her with a smile "That would fit a princess like you"
"N-naw.." She mumbled as she blushed softly "I-I´m no princess"
"No that's true" I mumbled as I kissed her cheek "You´re a queen. You deserve a crown, not a tiara"
"K-Kazuto…" She mumbled softly, wrapping her arms around my waist "Where did you learn to seduce women?"
"I´ve had a bit of practice" I said with a smirk.
"Oh yeah? How?" She mumbled as she smirked and looked into my eyes.
"That is a secret that only me and Suguha knows" I said with a smirk "And she finds it so embarrassing that she´s never going to tell"
"Ah damn" Asuna said as she snapped her fingers "Right when I was about to get some juicy blackmail material"
"For what reason would you blackmail me?" I asked as I looked at her.
"You´ll see" She said with a smirk "There might be a secret about you I want to know"
"Tsk, you can ask me anything" I said with a smirk "I´m not afraid"
"Oh yeah?" She said with a confident expression "How old were you when you last wetted the bed?"
"U-U-Uhmm.." I mumbled, not really expecting such a question.
"I Knew it" She said with a smirk "You won´t tell. Not so brave now huh?"
"Fine, fine I´ll say it" I mumbled softly "I think it was…. Eight or nine"
"Really!?" She said as she tried to stifle a giggle. "What made you do that!?"
"W-Well I don´t quite remember" I mumbled softly "It was something about a prank Suguha and some of her friends pulled on me"
"Oh really?" Asuna asked softly "I thought Suguha was a pretty serious person. I didn´t know she was into that kind of stuff"
"Well, that was before she got really serious with kendo" I said with a smirk "We used to play pranks on each other all the time"
"Really?" She said with a giggle "I guess the prank Suguha pulled on you was revenge right?"
"I believe it was" I mumbled thoughtfully "I might have bombarded her and her friends with water balloons"
"Oh my god!" Asuna said as she pulled away and began searching for clothes again "I can almost see how it went down!"
"Let´s just say it took ages to dry everything up" I said with a chuckle.
"Haha, I can almost picture it" She said with a laugh.
We then headed towards the changing rooms and I sighed softly as Asuna handed me my new outfit.
"You´re going to try yours out first" She said with a giggle, looking at me expectantly.
"Sheesh, ok, ok" I mumbled softly as I went inside and began stripping down so I could change.
I sighed softly as I looked down at the new outfit she wanted me to wear. It wasn´t half bad actually. It did contain white, yes, but that was only the jacket and the beanie she had chosen for me. The rest of the outfit contained of a dark grey shirt and some dark jeans, and a nice necklace with a sword that looked like a cross to top it all off.
I smiled softly and chuckled softly as I began changing into my new outfit, talking to Asuna while doing so.
"Well, at least you didn´t make it look like my KoB uniform"
"Right? It´s going to look so awesome on you" She said back with confidence in her voice.
"I guess time will tell about that madam" I said jokingly as I pulled on my new jeans.
I smiled a little as I looked at myself in a small mirror placed in the changing room, trying a bunch of different poses to see how the clothes fit and how it would look at me. And I honestly couldn´t have picked a better outfit. It might have been a white jacket and beanie, but somehow it suited me. I smiled a bit and tilted my head at the new me, before stepping outside, revealing myself to Asuna.
"I knew it would look great!" She squeeled happily as she smiled widely "I just knew it!"
"Ok, ok," I mumbled admittingly "Maybe wearing white isn´t that bad after all"
"See, I told you it would look great" She said with a satisfied smirk "Mission accomplished!"
"Well, now it´s your time to commit, soldier!" I said in the deepest voice I could "Cause now it is time form MY mission, to get you dressed in dark!"
"oh no Kazuto" She mumbled, her confidence suddenly gone "You know I don´t usually wear dark colors"
"I know" I said with a smirk "Which is what will make this so much more amusing"
"I hate you sometimes" She mumbled as I went back inside the changing room.
I chuckled softly and began changing back to my old clothes.
"I love you too hun" I said teasingly as I came out of the changing room.
I smiled slightly and stepped back, handing Asuna her new clothes as she walked inside.
"No peeking now" She said with a wink before walking in and closing the door behind her.
"Oh I wouldn´t dare" I said in a teasing voice as I leaned against a nearby wall, trying to kill time.
I waited for about ten minutes before the door opened again and Asuna stepped out of the room, looking at me expectantly.
"So," She mumbled a bit nervously "How do I look?"
She was absolutely adorable in her new outfit. I had chosen a grey hoodie with a black and white cute panda on the hood, and a black set of jeans, rips along the legs. I had chosen a pair of white and black striped socks and some black running shoes for her, making her look, not like a princess like usual, but a bit of a hardcore, tomboyish girl, something I wasn´t used to see in her.
I thought it really fit her though.
"You look really adorable" I said with a smirk "I´m pretty sure you would look intimidating with a glare though"
"Oh really?" She said with a smirk as she tried a glare "How about now then?"
She glared me straight in the eye and just as I thought, she had went from a beautiful and adorned princess, to a cute yet intimidating tomboy when in the mood.
"You look so cool" I said with a smirk "Didn't I tell ya? You look great"
"Thanks handsome" She said with a smile "Now let me just try on a few more outfits and we can go pay"
"I should´ve guessed one is never enough" I said jokingly as I chuckled.
I leaned against the wall again and waited for Asuna to be finished with her changing outfits and trying out new clothes, and after a good 30 minutes or so, she was finally done and satisfied.
"All done" She said as we went up to pay for our clothes.
"I swear, women and clothes" I mumbled as I facepalmed and chuckled softly. "Why can you never sette with one outfit?"
"Because were trying to impress our boyfriends, that´s why" She retaliated with a glare.
"Fair enough" I chuckled and whipped out my card, paying for our clothes.
"A-Are you sure you should pay for this Kazuto?" Asuna mumbled worriedly "I mean, I have plenty of money, and you already payed for half of our hotel room"
"Don´t worry Asuna" I said with a smile as the clerk scanned my card "I have plenty."
"If you say so" she mumbled, still looking at me with a somewhat worried expression.
We then walked out, Asuna with several shopping bags in her hands.
"So did you have fun today?" I asked her as is miled over at her satisfied expression.
"I can only have fun with you around" She said teasingly as she smirked at me.
"Aww you, come here" I said as I pulled her in, and kissed her softly.
And as we stood there and kissed in the beautiful snow fall of the Himalayas, I felt truly blissed. Blissed for having this remote mountain village, and these precious moments, with the girl I loved.
A/N
Hey guys! Hope you liked the chapter!
I didn´t like the end since I was running out of ideas, but meh, not every chapter ending can be as great as the last right?
Thank you guys so much for reading, and see you soon!