Suguha was having a strange day.
No, the entire time since her brother Kazuto finally awoke from his SAO forced coma was strange.
First her Onii-chan was strange, in ways that were new and different, and she couldn't understand even after playing a VRMMORPG herself for once. And later after he talked with a government man about the SAO Incident; he seemed pleased by something, and hopeful.
That evening she happened to see a fancy car, with black tinted windows pass by in the street, uncommon to that neighborhood.
The car was soon gone, but a strange feeling seemed to remain.
Then there was the strange suited man she spotted outside the street the next night. He looked like overdressed Yakuza in western movies, and seemed to be searching for something. Maybe the rich people who drove by the day before?
Then Kazuto had a meeting with the government guy about SAO again and only returned at night, when even their Mom was already home. Mom was about to scold the boy, only to stop upon noticing his face, and ask, worried, what's wrong. His eyes were red, and his mood ruined.
He seemed to brood after that. He refused to tell what was wrong.
And just today, as she was returning from school, she was almost certain that she saw a wolf- real wolf- hiding in the bushes and watching the street.
She almost had a heart attack. When she blinked-there was no one there, yet she was sure, well, pretty sure, that she didn't imagine the beast.
Suguha only learned about Asuna later. When Kazuto wanted to go somewhere, and she insistently tagged alone.
She was first surprised to see him going to the Hospital where he himself lay for two whole years. Hearing him ask about another Patient in the lobby confused her.
The discovery that the patient was a VIP-which she concluded from the location of the room-was a surprise.
The discovery that it was a girl was even more shocking. An admittedly very pretty girl.
Her somewhat shy and reclusive brother than took the girl's hand in his own, and started talking. only then did Suguha noticed the helm on her head-like the one that stole her Onii-chan so long ago.
Kazuto started talking. "Hi, Asuna…"
He introduced the girls to each other and, and Sugu learned that this was another SAO survivor, one still trapped. That apparently around three hundred of them have yet to be logged off.
That her shy older brother who used to shut himself in and socialize through computers-and mostly games at that, who was way too young to be interested in girls back then, seemed to care ,and even love that girl-that radiant sleeping beauty, with long pretty chestnut hair, who seemed a bit older then appropriate for her Onii-chan (or maybe that was only because, in her head, when she pictured the two as a couple, she saw Kazuto as he was once-before he closed his eyes one night for what was an eighth of his life and felt like an eternity to her).
It was confusing and hurt that the brother, cousin, or whatever Kazuto was to her left her confused about how she felt towards him, and now he had a girl he clearly felt so strongly about.
When the visit ended, and they were on their way home, someone called Kazuto, only she was certain she misheard, or they called some other name. Still her Brother turned around, and a moment later so did she.
They were greeted by a scruffy looking guy, brown haired and unshaven, with a face like a thug and a bandanna on his head.
Was he connected to the Yakuza guy that other night? Just what did her Onii-chan do? Just how did he end up in such dubious company?
However Kazuto seemed surprised, but in a good way. And greeted the stranger warmly.
"And who are you?" she turned her attention to the newcomer, pointedly reminding the two that they have yet to include her into the introduction.
As her brother presented her as the younger sister the street delinquent looking guy greeted her with a warm look in his eyes.
"Hey , I'm Tsuboi Ryotaro. You can call me Klein-friends of my Bro here are my friends."