Ch. 17

We stood off at 30 meters. I saw the boy's hatred through his visor. He hated me for embarrassing him. I had disarmed him in one move. He was eager to win back that loss.

" Match continues until a player declares mercy. Start!"

The boy took off, charging me with a vertical swing. I twisted to the side, using the point of my sword to slam him in the gut. Following with two overhead strikes to the back. I pulled away to let him regain his breath.

"Declare mercy, and that will be the end of it." I said in a relaxed tone. This only enraged him further. He tried to attack again. I countered again. This repeated for several minutes. Hit never landed a hit on me. Finally I jumped back with a flip, using his moment of surprise.

"Last warning. The next hit will knock you out."

"I will win! I will never lose!" he shrieked.

"We shall see."

He launched his last attack. It was clumsy, easy to avoid. I followed with a hit to the gut, then promptly smashed the back of his head. He sagged to the ground, unconscious. The other kendo members stood in shock. The amount of power behind that last blow was somewhat terrifying to them. Made sense. The kendo member that I had fought was wearing protective gear, and I still knocked him out. Imagine with no equipment and a real sword. Terrifying.

"I suggest you care for your friend." I said to them. The kendo members snapped out of it, walking over and performing first aid. I walked out, after replacing the bamboo sword on the rack next to the door. Stretching on the light outside, Nemu came up behind me.

"How did it go?" she said.

"Knocked out." I replied. Nemu looked at me with some concern.

"That was overkill."

"We were playing by mercy rules, and he wouldn't give in. So I knocked him out."

"Ok then… remind me never to play mercy rules against you."

"It is no biggy so long as you give up. Anyway, want some ice cream?"

As we began to eat dinner, I decided to set the ball rolling.

"Mr. Morino, Mrs. Morino, do you know of any apartments close by? I need to rent an one." Nemu glanced up, alarm on her face.

"N-Neko, you can just stay here! I-I don't mind!" she stuttered.

"Nemu, while it was nice to stay here, I can't live here forever. Notice that I asked for one close by?" I replied.

"B-But, I want you here! Y-You have a habit of running of and all so-" I broke out laughing.

"Nemu, that was in SAO, where I could just run off and no one but you would come after me. If I run off here, the entire police force will try to hunt me down. They have dogs too. I couldn't run if I wanted."

"Well..."

"Nemu, you might have known me for two years before now, but to the outside world, I am a random stranger, coming out of nowhere. That could get awkward when it comes to society." Suddenly Nemu broke out in laughter.

"Neko, we lost the ability to stay normal in society the moment we ran out of the starting city. No one else led our life, fighting for our lives the way we did. Not even the other players in SAO had your… resume."

"True, but still, I think-" suddenly Nemu stood up and crossed to the other side of the table. Caught by surprise I just stood there as she enveloped me in a bearhug.

"Neko, please stay here." she whispered into my ear.

"Nemu, sorry, but I think I'm not the only person here who agrees on this. Your parents, and even mine, would say that I should move to an apartment." Then I got a big shock.

"Actually, we don't mind." said Mrs. Morino.

"W-What?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, before you showed up, Nemu was incredibly depressed. It took a ton just to get her to eat. After you came along, she perked up, to the point that she is at now." Nemu gave me a nervous smile. I returned it with a glare.

"What were you thinking? You knew I wasn't dead! You saw me logged out at the same time you did. Why on earth you you-"

"Because I over thought. I thought that the game had killed you. I… I was almost suicidal. That is why I want you to stay here." Then it hit me. They had manipulated me. All of them. Even her parents. And they won.

"Fine, but just for now. I will move out sometime in the next month."

"But-"

"No buts. Jeez we trade that one quite a lot don't we?" She smiled.

"Yes, yes we do."

Author's Note: Unfortunately, I will be unable to post a chapter tomorrow, or even Sunday. This is due to me going off line for a day, as in even my phone will be left at home. Sorry about this. Thanks for reading!