Kazuto Kirigaya took in a breath of air as he stood by the entrance of the Imperial Park. Comfortably clad in his usual dark-colored clothing, he smiled while turning up towards the blue sky above. White clouds were lightly dispersed through the skyline, and Kazuto smiled slightly. It was hard to believe he was finally back in the real world, after an extensive stay at the Ocean Turtle. The events of the STL and Project Alicization were still in his mind, even now.

After a span of 200 years ruling the Human Empire in the STL-VR realm of Underworld, Kazuto and Asuna Yuuki, his beloved partner, had finally returned home. There had been quite some catching up to do in terms of schoolwork. Fortunately, the library at the SAO Survivor School was open for students to catch up on their summer work, and it didn't take too long for both Kazuto and Asuna to have all their summer assignments turned in.

Apart from their academic performance, Kazuto and Asuna had managed to pass a substantial hurdle in their relationship, which was getting the support of Asuna's mother Kyouko. It had taken a formal dinner and a long conversation afterwards, but Kazuto had finally earned Kyouko's permission to stay with Asuna. As her father Shouzou had already given his support to them both after the incident in old ALO, Kazuto finally felt like he could breathe freely in Kyouko's presence.

After that, it was time to help Eugeo Rulid and Alice Zuberg adjust to life in the real world. Alice had volunteered to live with the Yuuki family, and Eugeo opted to stay with the Kirigayas. Asuna had once confided in Kazuto that Alice was starting to feel less like a roommate and more like a friend. Alice had also befriended Shouzou rather quickly, and every so often, Asuna would see them playing chess together. Eugeo quickly settled in as well, and so far, everything between them both was going fine.

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the breeze wash over him, until a very familiar hand slipped into his own. Kazuto cracked his eyes open at seeing Asuna in front of him, a loving smile on her face.

"Hello, Kazuto." she smiled. "What's on your mind?"

"Just looking back on what's changed." Kazuto replied, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "It's hard to believe we're finally back."

"I can understand why." Asuna replied as they both walked into the park. "Just this morning, Mother actually complimented me on the grades I got on my summer assignments. It really did feel strange hearing her say that. It did make me feel really happy to hear her say it, though."

Kazuto nodded, as he had learned Asuna's mother was not exactly one to directly show affection or give praise. Nowadays, it seemed that she was being a little more open in her speech and behavior. At least, that's what Asuna had told Kazuto over a late-night exchange of text messages.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Asuna looked up at him with an excited smile.

"I figured we could just walk around and talk." Kazuto replied, scratching his head. "I didn't bring too much with me, just my phone and wallet.."

"Same hereI. I didn't even think to bring lunch or snacks." Asuna seemed a little downcast. "It's so nice out right now, we could've had a picnic if we'd thought of it."

"Well, we can still be together." Kazuto smiled, giving Asuna's hand a squeeze. "If we need to get something to eat, we can probably find a street vendor or a restaurant nearby."

"Sounds good to me." Asuna said, briefly nuzzling his shoulder with her cheek. "Let's just find a place to sit for now."

Kazuto had no objections, and they soon found themselves under a shady tree, curled up beside each other. It was quiet for a few moments, but it did not take long for Asuna to murmur quietly in concern, causing Kazuto to open his eyes and glance at her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Can you check the weather again?" she replied. "It seems to me like it's going to rain soon. At least, judging by the clouds and the wind…"

Kazuto did just that, and to their disappointment, the weather feed showed a thunderstorm was developing. As they quickly headed for the park exit, and reached it in a few minutes, it began drizzling, and then the rain came down.

"Should we try to head back to the Subway station?" Asuna asked as they ran down the street, searching for shelter.

"I don't think that's an option right now!" Kazuto responded, pulling up his jacket to shield himself. "Let's just find an open store and wait there. If we need to, we can call someone to give us a ride."

"Okay!"

As they continued to run, they soon found themselves sheltering under the patio awning of a restaurant. They both sat down to catch their breath, and Kazuto gave a sigh the feeling of his wet jacket on his relatively dry shirt.

"Well, let's go inside." Asuna suggested. "We were in need of something to eat, and plus, this place looks like it just opened. We should give it a try."

Kazuto agreed, and as they walked inside, they could see it was named "White River Brewing Company", and from the looks of things, they were just opening up for the day. They were both given a welcome by the host, and asked how many seats they would need.

"Two for now." Asuna replied, as they both showed their IDs upon being requested to do so. The host nodded, and they were shown to a table. As they sat down and picked up their menus, the door opened again. Kazuto quickly glanced to see it was another couple seeking shelter from the rain. This couple were both wearing rain jackets, and as they pulled down their hoods, the girl quickly glanced in Asuna's direction, and then froze.

"No way." she murmured, quickly walking over. "Hello, Asuna! I'm not sure you remember me, but we met at the school library when I needed to borrow a book from you."

Asuna raised her eyebrow, and then she remembered.

About a week ago, in the school library, Asuna had been packing up her and her partner's materials while he was up front. She didn't notice at first, but when she turned, she saw a girl about her age, with long brown hair and grayish eyes approach.

"Hey, I'm sorry to disturb you, but are you done using that textbook?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, of course! Here you go." Asuna offered the book, and the girl accepted it shyly.

"What's wrong?" Asuna asked. "You seem a little nervous."

"Well, you're Asuna, right?" the girl asked, and Asuna nodded.

"It's just that I've heard so many great things about you from the other students. I just never thought I'd run into you." the girl replied. "Anyway, I'm Hana Hiryuin. I went by Raina in SAO."

"It's nice to meet you." Asuna replied. "Are you new here, though? I don't think I've seen you in school before."

"Sort of." Hana shrugged, as they both sat down. "I enrolled in the Survivor School after SAO, and I think I'm in the same grade as you now. I ended up missing a semester or so because I had to take care of a family member. Luckily, I met a boy who was in the same boat as me, and we've been studying together."

"That sounds lovely." Asuna nodded, only she soon noticed Kazuto standing at the doors. "Well, Hana, I hope we meet again soon. I think my partner's waiting for me."

"Oh, sure thing!" Hana smiled. "See you around!"

"Hana!" Asuna said. "I do remember you. How've you been?"

"I'm doing just fine. I managed to finish all my schoolwork for the summer. Did you get caught in the rain as well?"

"We did, as a matter of fact. By the way, Hana, this is my partner, Kazuto Kirigaya." Asuna smiled.

"Nice to meet you." Hana nodded. The host then came over, and asked if they'd like to sit at the same table, but keep their orders separate. Asuna and Kazuto agreed, and soon, Hana and her friend were seated next to them.

As her friend pulled off his jacket, and sat down next to Hana, he gave a small smile and introduced himself as Connor Brooks. He was about Kazuto's height, much like Hana was to Asuna, but he was a little more well-built. He had dark brown hair with pale blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you." Kazuto said. "I take it you're an SAO Survivor like we are?"

"Yep. My name in SAO was Colten." Connor replied. "I'm one of the few Survivors that's from the United States. I logged in from San Francisco, and I did my rehab there when the game was cleared. Once I was done with that, My dad and I moved here so I could enroll in the Survivor School.'

"You moved all the way from the US?" Kazuto asked, surprised.

"Well, it helps that my dad and I both benefited from moving here." Connor replied. "We moved a lot before SAO. I've lived in Seattle, Denver, and Los Angeles."

"Why's that?" Asuna asked, curious. "Was it business-related?"

"Not in the slightest. My dad's in the US Marine Corps, and due to his rank, we got shuffled around a lot, as they say." Connor replied. "When I was logged out of SAO, Dad actually declined a promotion so I could stay in San Francisco for my rehab. After that, he got assigned to the US Embassy here. It was a nice addition to be able to go to the Survivor School because of it."

"That's really interesting." Asuna said, as the four of them placed their orders with the waiter who had come by at that moment to ask if they were ready. "I didn't know there were SAO Survivors outside of Japan."

"There were about 100 or so that logged in, including me." Connor replied. "A good amount of them didn't make it, but plenty of others survived."

"So, how'd you meet then?" Asuna asked.

"It was on Floor 19." Hana replied. "I got separated from the party I was in, and I ran across Connor, who helped me back to the settlement. We stuck together after that, we started dating, and before the game was cleared, we exchanged our real names, ages, and where we lived."

"It didn't take long for us to reconnect once we got through our rehabilitation. We were long-distance for a time, and when Connor moved here, he surprised me in the best way possible."

"How'd you do that?" Kazuto asked.

"Once I found her address, and got her folks' approval, my dad and I came over to her place while she was out with her mom." Connor replied, as they were served their orders and drinks. "I think we spent at least three hours there just talking, getting to know each other, that sort of thing."

"And actually getting to say that you loved me in person for the first time." Hana smirked playfully, causing Connor to flinch in an embarrassed manner, and both Kazuto and Asuna smiled.

"That's wonderful." Asuna nodded. "If you don't mind, could we all exchange numbers before we leave? I'd like to stay in touch."

"Sure thing." Connor nodded. After about twenty more minutes of conversation and eating, during which the storm passed and the rain stopped, the four of them paid for their meals. After thanking the staff, they headed outside to swap their contact information.

"Do either of you still play VRMMOs?" Asuna asked.

"We do. We started playing Alfheim Online during the last semester." Connor replied. "Neither of us changed our names, so if you see us online, we'll be glad to help with whatever you need."

"Glad to hear it." Asuna smiled. "Well, Kazuto, we should head home. I think it's about that time, anyway."

"Hey, if you need a ride, my dad's on his way." Connor suggested. "We can drop you both off if you want. It's no big problem, our car has plenty of room."

"Why not?" Kazuto replied. Asuna agreed as well, and it wasn't too long before they were in a small US Embassy SUV being driven by Connor's dad, who introduced himself as Staff Sergeant John Brooks. After only about ten minutes of driving, Asuna and Kazuto were dropped off at their respective residences. Asuna did have to explain to her father why she had come out of a US Embassy vehicle, but Shouzou's confusion was soon cleared by Asuna's explanation of the day's events. Kazuto did have a similar conversation with his aunt, uncle, and Suguha when he got home, but the outcome was the same.

It had been a long day, Kazuto later thought, as he lay in bed after he had eaten dinner with his family. After texting Asuna goodnight, and her wishing him the same, he soon changed for bed and fell asleep not too long afterward, wondering what kind of adventure the next day would bring.