Chapter 7: Passing the Time

"Do you want to go, then?"

Kazuto heard her voice to his left, but did not turn to see Asuna complete the sound; or rather, he could not. He knew, somehow, that she was there, but the need to look and confirm this had been prohibited. Instead, he flicked his gaze at what was sitting before him, although what he saw, Kazuto could not clearly specify. Instead, the only clear reception was the impression that there was something long and shrouded ahead, something not easily penetrated or approached.

"Not sure," He murmured softly, and he felt that Asuna rustled briefly at his side at this.

"We'll have to go sometime," She said, sounding more disappointed than angry. "We can't stay here forever."

Instead of answering immediately, Kazuto stared back at the unclear entity waiting for them ahead. He really couldn't see past it. It confused him, and his eyes hurt. Closing them, Kazuto tried to sort his thoughts.

"I think I don't know how," He replied softly.

This time, Asuna did not say anything. Instead, she sighed and leaned against him; or at least he thought she had, there was no way for him to confirm this.

The world closed around them.

When it opened again, Kazuto was awake.

Blinking briefly to gain his bearings, he glanced around to affirm his location. He was still laying in his sleeping bag in the tent on the hill, and the cool air filtering through the minute gap in the zipper indicated that it was early morning. He was about to sit up and let the blood rush down from his brain when his nose became buried in something soft.

Kazuto only had to inhale once to identify it. Focusing his view on what was before him, he realized that over the course of the night Asuna must have left her sleeping bag to join him in his. He'd fallen asleep facing away from her, but when he'd turned to get up he'd discovered her. Smiling involuntarily, Kazuto watched her eyelids flutter gently as she journeyed through the endless plains of slumber. She slept in a way highly reminiscent of that day under the tree in the great plain of grass in Aincrad, when Kazuto had awoken himself to find an angel sleeping by his side. Even now Asuna's fists lay gently curled at her chest, and her chestnut hair fanned out behind her to frame the countenance which had captivated him for years on end without retribution. Even now she looked fragile, gentle, something to be cherished. Even now, his heart throbbed when he watched her.

Asuna murmured something incoherent in her sleep and shifted slightly to adjust her position. The movement, however minute, broke the small moment of reverence and brought Kazuto's attention back to the matter at hand.

Smile fading, he let the memories of his dream return to his consciousness. Despite his natural denial, Kazuto knew very well what it's meaning had been; he was unsure about his future, and Asuna's, as well as how it would play out. He harbored no doubts about the strength of their bond, however. No, instead he wondered about the circumstances the future would bring, and how it would effect said bond. It was now the height of January, and in a relatively small amount of months they would be off to college. While there was always the possibility that one or both of them would end up as ronin (those who failed the examinations and had to wait another year to make a second attempt), but such an outcome was, Kazuto felt, rather unlikely.

Due to their extraordinary circumstances involving the SAO incident, the surviving six thousand players had been given additional time to study for the entrance exams. This, unfortunately, was still a paltry window of time, and Kazuto and Asuna had barely been able to cover what they'd missed to take the exams. Now all there was to do was wait; both of them had applied for the University of Tokyo, the school Kazuto had always dreamed of going to. Asuna herself claimed that she had a great interest in the university's humanitarian fields. Kazuto just hoped it wasn't for him. Not that the actual education was pivotal for their futures, seeing as college education was not as vital in Japan as countries like the United States. Ronin were also rather common these days.

Then what happens after college? Kazuto continued to muse as he wormed a hand out from under the sleeping bag to brush a strand of hair out of Asuna's eyes before pulling her closer to him. Assuming we're still together then, what happens? After five years of dating...will we proceed to something more?

Forcing himself to stop the wondering, Kazuto actually shook his head.

Too many uncertainties. Too many questions.

Within the span of a year, Kayaba Akihiko had been defeated, he had saved Asuna, they'd been released from the hospital, and the memorial had passed. Takashi had made his attempt at vengeance, and the rift between himself and Mrs. Yuuki was just beginning to knit back together. Yet despite all this, regardless of the progress made, Kazuto's image of his relationship with Asuna was that of two defiant young adults facing the world together, supporting each other, and keeping each other from falling under the pressure the world pushed them all with. Companions, equals, lovers. Kazuto was the sort of person who disliked change; he tried his best to maintain his surroundings as far as he could. Even his quick adaptation to the rules and circumstances in Aincrad had been a sort of facade, coupled with his superior experience in VRG.

So now, as he lay watching the love of his life sleep, Kazuto wondered how their relationship would evolve and change, for better or worse, as the passage of time continued its work. Would they grow inseparable? Independent of each other? There really was no way to say. He had this sort of mental block that prevented him from knowing for sure what the two of them would be like years down the line. The way he and Asuna were now, it felt perfect, the scent of her, her warm body pressed against his...was there anything greater than this? Would the future bring it? Kazuto sighed and held Asuna a little more tighter against his chest, trying to banish the speculations.

He shouldn't be thinking such things, in any case. Asuna was here, now, and they were together here and now. Kazuto had told as much to Asuna that one day under the tree, and this was an opportunity to exercise that mantra.

He must have been too forceful, though, because Asuna shifted against him. Kazuto had to suppress a laugh when her face took the same clueless expression it always did when she woke up. Eyes drooped halfway closed and her lips jutted out in a lazy pout, she lifted her head an inch and look around herself before seeing Kazuto.

"Morning," He said softly, reaching forward to plant a kiss on her forehead. Asuna's eyes fluttered at the gesture of adoration and buried her face into his chest, fists lightly gripping the fabric of his shirt to hide from the world for just a bit longer. Kazuto allowed this for a few more minutes before he shook her gently and said, "Come on, it's time to wake up."

Sighing, Asuna opened her eyes and forced herself to sit up in the sleeping bag their shared; it was a good thing it was big, seeing as it had had to fit two bodies inside of it. While she was blinking the rest of the sleep from her eyes, Kazuto crawled over to the zipper of the tent and yanked it open, squinting severely when the sun lanced through the new opening to illuminate the entire interior. The rays of light had been somewhat diluted by the fabric of the tent's walls, but now it flooded in and lit up everything. Asuna trotted along on her knees to join him at the entrance and sat there, leaning her head on his shoulder. They watched the clouds together for a little while, and it was so quiet that the slight breeze of the dawn could be heard among the grass.

"The stars were beautiful last night," Asuna spoke finally, her voice just a bit hoarse. Kazuto hmmed in response.

"They're always so constant," She continued. "And always so pretty. Do you think we can be like that?"

The question caught Kazuto slightly off guard, and he took his time answering. "You're prettier than the stars," He said simply then, and Asuna laughed at the obvious evasion.

"Not as smart as you act, eh?" She chuckled, poking her companion on the cheek in a teasing manner.

"I'm still smarter though," Kazuto scoffed in mock defiance, and Asuna snorted and crossed her arms, although inside her heart laughed in joy. Here, atop this grassy hill, she felt farther from the ties of reality and closer to Kazuto than ever.

Things may change, She thought as the clouds continued their endless odyssey across the sky.

But we'll face it together.

After that night, time seemed to slip by a little more quickly. Their encounter with Takashi was a sort of turning point, an event to end any last affiliations with SAO that could come back to haunt them. Like something to tie up the loose ends the memorial had left behind. It also meant that the daily demands of life were more steadfast than ever, and before either of them knew it it had consumed them entirely.

By the time January had passed and February had broken over the horizon, VR was the farthest thing from their minds, even though their restrictions of accessing the technology for it were beginning to ease. By June, they would be sufficiently recovered enough to begin using Full-Dive specs once more. Although visiting the virtual reality brought a sort of bitter taste to Kazuto's mouth now, he wanted to go back, if not to visit his in-game daughter Yui. It made him depressed to think of the small young girl flitting through Aincrad without much purpose, seeing as none of the players were present. She was also much more advanced than the other AI in the game, so she really wouldn't fit in anywhere. It was hideous to think about. Despite the cold hard fact that Yui was computer-generated, he and Asuna had always considered her to be their first true daughter.

Kazuto's seventeenth birthday came and went during this time, well into the depths of October. It had been celebrated with appropriate accord, along with a teasing note about birthday sex from Klein. And, of course, good-natured jabs from his elders reminding him that he was only a year away from being able to marry now. And although Asuna's name was not directly mentioned, her very spirit seemed to float in the air when they said that. While it wasn't a particularly detestable thing to wonder about (in fact, it made him smile), Kazuto still wasn't sure about things like that. Not the future, and what it could bring.

He was practicing his kendo strokes at home one morning when his phone buzzed on the wooden porch connecting the house to the traditional garden outside. Taking a brief respite from his exertions, Kazuto walked over and checked the device.

Yo! It was from Klein. Birthday's next week, but trip's coming up in two days...anyone up to hang?

A cursory glance told Kazuto that the message had also been sent to Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, and Agil (who he had recently learned was named Andrew in reality, it had completely slipped his mind). So he was trying to gather everyone before he had to leave. Klein had a massive business trip approaching rather quickly, one that would take him from his home for at least several months. It was a great opportunity for him to advance his career and take leaps forward in the business world, so Klein had jumped at the opportunity immediately. Another look told him that the location was at Agil's bar in the middle of the afternoon.

A smile tugged at Kazuto's lips. Another Offline meeting, eh...?

As usual, the bells tacked to the side of the wooden door jingled gently when Kazuto pushed it open and entered the premises. He and his friends had all given Klein their birthday gifts beforehand due to the trip, so there would be no presents today; however, they had yet to celebrate his birthday at a specific time and place. It felt right to do this.

Lisbeth was already there when he walked over to the bar and sat down. She was conversing rather animatedly with Agil, who was polishing to usual glass as he spoke with the younger girl.

"Hey," Kazuto greeted as he slid into the bar. Agil nodded at him in response and Lisbeth broke off her conversation to turn and face him.

"We were just talking about college," She explained. "It's hard to believe that we'll be off in just a few months, isn't it?"

Inwardly, Kazuto sighed in exasperation. Everyone was obsessed with college these days. "Have you considered any universities yet?"

"Well there's this really prestigious one in Nagasaki that excels in the crafts, but I'm not entirely sure yet," Lisbeth said uncertainly, smiling apologetically. "How about you? Tokyo, I assume? It would suit your hobbies."

"Dead on, assuming I'm admitted," Kazuto praised her. "Computer and software programming."

"And Asuna?"

"She's going for some sort of humanitarian field. Not entirely sure yet either, but she says she'd also like to go to the University of Tokyo."

Lisbeth laughed out loud at that, and Agil also raised an eyebrow in amusement. "So you'll even go to college together, eh? I knew you two would be inseparable no matter what, but I never expected something like that."

"Well in any case, we've still got some time to think about it," Kazuto said, rolling his eyes at the expected reaction.

Lisbeth smiled again, but more softly this time. "If the two of you do end up going to Tokyo together, it'll probably be without the rest of us, huh?"

Kazuto paused to mull that over for a moment. He hated to admit it, but it did make sense. It was highly unlikely that all three of them would end up attending the same university. So would his friendship with the former blacksmith begin to deteriorate? Despite the romantic affections the girl had expressed to him in the past, as well as the complications they had caused, Kazuto still valued their relationship highly. She was like a balancing factor to Asuna, and was able to deliver a refreshing change in perspective every now and then. They were also companions, in the way he and Asuna were companions, just different.

"Probably," He conceded at last.

Lisbeth sighed and went back to staring at the smoothly polished wood of the bar. Agil had sensed the change of sensitivity of the subject and had excused himself to the other side of the bar, quietly scrubbing at his glass.

"Anyways, if that's the case, you need to promise me something."

Kazuto blinked and look at her.

Lisbeth stared back with two eyes that burned with a flame he'd never really seen before.

"You...you need to take care of Asuna," She said, eyes narrowing to emphasize her point."

"I will."

"You need to protect her always," Lisbeth persisted. "Be by her side always. Don't let anyone or anything hurt her. I won't be there anymore to watch over her with you, so it'll all be up to you, Kazuto. Take care of her. Promise me...promise that you'll always love her."

Kazuto's forehead wrinkled at the stacked demand, finally turning his entire body to face his friend.

"Those are some lofty requests," He said, mostly as a way to buy time for a better response.

"It's your responsibility," Lisbeth insisted.

Kazuto smiled. "I guess that's true. Don't worry, Lisbeth. You won't have to worry about her."

Lisbeth nodded. "Thanks, Kazu-kun."

Deciding to try and lighten the mood, Kazuto joked, "If that's my job, then it'll be your job to look after Silica, am I right?"

Lisbeth seemed rather alarmed at this revelation and said, "What! But she's-"

Kazuto laughed and held his hands up. "Kidding...but she'll be lonely, wouldn't she? Once we're all gone." Strangely, he thought, Silica's situation reminded him of Yui's.

The former blacksmith blew the bangs out of her eyes and said tersely, "Maybe, but she has her own group of friends. She's friendly and kind to people, and she attracts boys like the plague. There's a reason why so many people tried to marry her in-game, you know."

"Mmm." That was true. It had been rather unnerving, really, to watch grown men make such propositions to a fourteen year old girl. Thinking back on Silica's clumsiness, both in SAO and out of it, brought an involuntarily chuckle out of him. Maybe she would be fine, after all.

"I think we'll all be fine, frankly," Lisbeth said suddenly, reaching over the bar to pour herself a glass of cider before leaving the appropriate compensation on the wooden interior of the bar. "Surely, we'll miss each other, but we'll never grow apart, right? Not after everything we've gone through together. You can't break something like that so easily. I think, Kazuto, that after we've gone through college and we've all grown up into adults, we'll still be close."

The rest of their friends came soon after that, with Klein making the biggest (and loudest) entrance, as usual. As Agil returned to rejoin the exponentially larger conversation, and the drinks began to be passed around, Kazuto shut it all out for a minute to reflect. Looking up, he stared at his friends all laughing and enjoying each other's company. Despite the challenges and questions they all faced, smiles dominated their expressions. Lisbeth was screaming something rude at Klein for making an offhand comment about her body, and Asuna was laughing at her friend's obvious agitation. Agil laughed along with Klein at the joke, and Silica was whispering something offensive about her senpais to Suguha, who had actually deigned to come and join them. It felt like one big happy family.

Family, Kazuto thought as he smiled along with them and re-immersed himself into the flow of the conversation.

Family never separates, right?

"Your older brother?"

"Yeah!" Asuna said, almost jumping around in excitement. "He's finally coming back!"

"Where has he been?" Kazuto asked rather sheepishly as he took his seat next to Asuna in the classroom. It shamed him to admit it, but he had never gone out of his way to learn more about Asuna's older brother. Kazuto was well aware of his existence and the fact that he wasn't around, but beyond that his knowledge petered out to nothing.

"He's been on a business trip, as usual," Asuna explained in exasperation. "That's why I put on the NerveGear for the first time, remember? He had a sudden trip and couldn't play SAO when it was released, so I tried it out.

"In any case, he's came back from his trip years ago to find me asleep, and my parents have told me that he was very devastated. Ever since then he's been taking on trip after trip, almost as if he was trying to distance himself from home as far as possible." She said the last words with regret in her tone, staring down at the tiled floor. "But when he heard that all the players had been saved, he decided that it was time to come home. So once his current trip ends, he'll be back."

"When is that?" Kazuto asked, now genuinely curious.

"In four days," Asuna informed him. "I haven't seen my brother in two years," She whispered then, her fists clenched tightly in her lap. "It's been so long. I wonder if he's grown? Have I grown? Will he tell me how much bigger I've gotten? What do you think, Kazuto?"

Kazuto smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "I don't think it'll matter, really. As long as the two of you get to see each other again, words shouldn't be very necessary."

Asuna nodded firmly at this and sat up a big straighter. "Right!" Then she seemed to remember something. "And you need to make a good impression as well," Asuna threatened suddenly. "He'll be staying until our high school graduation, so this isn't a hit and quit thing. So be good, alright?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Kazuto asked, "Why is your brother not fond of me?"

A flush suddenly dominated Asuna's face and she admitted, "Well...he doesn't really know you exist."

"Ah," Kazuto said dumbly. So Asuna's brother didn't even know about him? He wasn't sure if this boded well or ill for him. If he followed the stereotypical format, the older brother would return home from a long journey to find that his emoto had found someone she cared for, and the typical "big brother intimidation" would ensue. Kazuto already knew that Asuna's brother was in his mid twenties already, so this probably wouldn't be too hard on the giving end.

"In any case, you've been invited to have dinner with us a few days after he gets here," Asuna said quickly, as if rushing through the information would make it trivial.

Kazuto blinked dumbly. "What?"

"Oh come now, don't be like that," Asuna reassured him. "It'll be fun."

"But..." Kazuto began, at a loss for words. "...we're gonna eat...at a table with the whole family."

"Don't forget my brother."

"That is exactly my point."

"Think about it this way," Asuna negotiated as the morning bell rang. "This is a chance to get on better terms with Mother, right? Because I doubt it'll be beneficial if my brother comes home and realizes that his mother dislikes you."

Sighing, Kazuto closed his eyes. He couldn't really argue with that.

"Alright, then..."

I must apologize for the rather paltry filler, but I needed to show the passage of time for the world around Kazuto and Asuna (hence, the title of the chapter). Soon, their circumstances and possibilities will evolve beyond what the anime and manga have established into territory more fit for true adults. So when this does happen, please do not make comments about them being OOC, because this is about the journey they take over time.

Thanks for reading!

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