Sorry if this one feels a bit all over the place, I'm trying to establish a couple things.
Chapter 8: Making Progress
A twitch of the eyebrow.
Then another, as the amount of psychological exertion Asuna had to put into preventing herself from screaming climbed to catastrophic levels. Her lower eyelid joined the eyebrow to twitch with it in unison, the only sign of the rising pressure growing exponentially in her chest. She just needed to keep calm, keep calm, keep-
"So, which one do you like?" Hitomi asked expectantly.
"NONE OF THEM!" Asuna screeched, drawing the attention of every single person in the store. The cashier drilled holes at her for causing a disturbance, but Asuna glared back, so the employee hmphed and hid behind her newspaper.
"Oh, come on," Hitomi humphed, flipping her dark brown hair behind her back in exasperation. "There must be something you have an interest in."
"None at all," Asuna insisted.
"My, my," The nurse tutted, shaking her head as if scolding a toddler. "My child, you really are a goody-two-shoes, aren't you?"
"What do you mean by that?" Asuna asked pensively, not sure if it was a very wise decision to allow her friend to answer that question.
Hitomi threw an arm around her friend's shoulders and swept the other in a wide arc, demonstrating the general expanse of the store. "You're too afraid to wear lingerie," She said, making sure to put extra emphasis on the word to punctuate her point.
The two of them were currently standing in the dead center of Japan's most popular lingerie store, or so Hitomi claimed. Asuna hadn't even been aware that there were stores which specialized in selling that sort of thing, and in hindsight it still sounded ridiculous to her. But here she was, trapped, standing between row upon row upon row of nothing but the accursed undergarments. It was really starting to give her a headache. The nurse had called her up for a supposed shopping date to the local mall, something Asuna had been surprised to hear, seeing as most college students would be embarrassed to be seen toting a high school senior around. But Hitomi apparently did not care, so she'd gone along with it rather happily.
Asuna could tell something was afoot, however, when Hitomi took a route that she'd never seen before. And by the time she realized what her schemes were, she'd already been dragged into the store. Now here Asuna was, trying (unsuccessfully) to explain to Hitomi why she did not want to wear any lingerie and did not plan on doing so in the future.
"But why not?" The nurse asked for the millionth time, crossing her arms in stubbornness. Asuna had to roll her eyes at that; sometimes she felt like the older one.
"Because I don't need to," She explained also for the millionth time, just barely keeping her patience in check. "It's not like people go outside and walk around in nothing but their underwear, and since that's the case, what's the point in lingerie?"
"It's for self confidence," Hitomi stressed, reaching out to clap Asuna on the shoulder, who shirked away in fear. "Not for looks, unless you're into that kind of thing. And besides," She added, leaning in to whisper into the younger girl's ear, "It might come in handy with a certain someone, am I right?"
"YOU'RE WRONG!" Asuna shouted again, going completely red in the face. The cashier did a one-eighty in her spinning stool to turn and glare bullets through her head this time, but Asuna still glared back, so the lady just showed her teeth before returning to her newspaper.
"Am I?" Hitomi asked her airily, taking advantage of her greater height and heels to loom over her like an ominous shadow. "I would beg to differ, my child. You seemed quite mature enough for the job when I walked in on you two at the hospital."
"That's not even close to the implications you're making!" Asuna hissed back.
Hitomi rolled her eyes and turned away from her, beginning to proceed deeper into the store, towards the back. An arching finger was the only sign the nurse gave that she wished for Asuna to follow her, and for a moment the younger girl considered bolting, but decided against it. That would only result in more severe torture down the line. Might as well get this over with...
And if I even somehow leave this establishment with a set of lingerie in my hands, it won't be thanks to my money.
Huffing, Asuna followed Hitomi to the back end of the store and stood by her side while the nurse began pondering at a row of products, apparently deep in thought. Asuna let her mind wander while she waited, more than happy to keep herself from falling into staring at the underwear with her, until the nurse spoke at last.
"Can you imagine being with anyone else besides Kazuto, Asuna?"
"Huh?"
"You heard me," Hitomi said patiently, still not breaking her gaze from the lingerie.
Frowning, she gave it a moment's thought. "Well, no, not really. I've had a couple boyfriends before him, but he's by far the best I've ever had...no, I can't really see anyone else but him. Why do you ask?"
"Well, if you hope to be with him forever, or at least several more years, you're going to enter full-fledged adulthood during that time," Hitomi explained, widening her cobalt-blue eyes for emphasis. Biting her lip, the older girl seemed to actually think before she spoke for once. "What I'm saying is, age brings opportunity, some of which you should embrace, and others you shouldn't. To me, the physical side of a healthy relationship is something that should be established once both parties are mentally and bodily mature, which is part of the reason I brought you here. I will confess that it was mostly to tease you, but it's also true that it will be very difficult to avoid the progress of your intimacy with Kazuto for very long without damaging the relationship. After all, Kazuto's a guy. A nice guy, sure, but ever man has his urges."
"Women too," Asuna mumbled, staring off to the side.
"My point exactly. So go and try a couple of these on, would you?"
Asuna looked down at the small pile of undergarments being held out to her, and felt her mind lock. Was she seriously considering this?
Sighing, she reached out and took the clothes from Hitomi's hands.
"Fine. But you're paying."
The nurse squealed and ushered her towards the changing rooms.
"Just do it, Asuna," Kazuto sighed in an exasperated manner.
"I can't! I'm scared," His girlfriend whispered back meekly, her knuckles nearly whitening as her fingers tightened their grip. A loose strand of hair had managed to work its way loose from her flowing locks and hung in front of her face, almost like a limp ahoge, something that would have made him laugh in any other situation. But the atmosphere now was tense, heated, serious.
"You'll have to get used to it sooner or later, you know," He pointed out, going for a last-ditch effort for a logical conclusion to Asuna's indecision. "It's a part of growing up, you can't avoid it forever."
Asuna licked her lips and readjusted her grip for what felt like the thousandth time. "But...but...It's too hard," She finally hissed out, moving her head to glare at him.
Snorting, Kazuto adjusted his position in the seat and said, "Just...start gently. Nothing too abrupt, or it'll all go wrong like the last time. Without rushing, just push down nice and slow...right, like that," Kazuto said, sighing in relief as they began to move at last. Finally, all that waiting was over. Asuna began to smile tentatively as she began to gain some sort of confidence in her movements. Feeling a certain measure of satisfaction blossom within him upon seeing the success of his persuasion, Kazuto reached over and gave her a little pat on the head for her efforts.
His satisfaction diminished a certain measure, however, when Asuna began to pick up speed. Unbidden, an amount of dread began to fill him up inside. The last time Asuna had tried to go at this velocity, it had resulted in a rather unsavory course of events...
"Asuna," Kazuto breathed, trying to get his mate's attention.
"...mmm?" She mumbled back, eyes focused on the task at hand.
A flash of light at the corner of his eye. Something bolting across the street at blinding speed, but not fast enough to avoid the incoming collision-
"Hit the brakes!"
There was a resounding screech as Asuna's foot immediately impacted with the brake pedal of the car, cutting short the energy allowing the tires to spin and forcing them down to an abrupt halt. Both of their necks were hurdled forward by the residual force of their movement, skulls just barely refraining from making contact with the unforgiving glass of the front windshield. Asuna squealed an lowered her head, hiding her forehead behind the top curve of the steering wheel, and there she stayed, desperately trying to regain even a grain of her composure. Kazuto shot his head up and saw the small cat complete its run across the street, where it licked itself before running into the cover of the bushes.
Exhaling heavily out of his nose, Kazuto recovered much more quickly from the scare and sat back in his seat on the passenger's side of the vehicle, turning to stare out of the window and give Asuna time to regather herself. It was ridiculous really. The girl was in the top five out of ten thousand players in a reflex-based death game, but she couldn't operate a simple gas-powered four wheeled vehicle. Asuna had come to him with more than enough embarrassment at having to ask her boyfriend to teach her how to properly operate a car, seeing as her family had already given up on the idea. "Just go to a college with lots of bike paths," Shouzou had advised her.
Kazuto, unfortunately, had taken on that responsibility without much knowledge on the specifics of past failures. Sure, he was aware than Asuna had yet to obtain her license, (he'd gotten his a few months after the SAO incident) but he'd always figured it was a byproduct of poor mentoring rather than an acute inability. But Kazuto had, of course, been flatly proven wrong after their first session, during which Asuna had slammed the brakes out of fear five times and failed to breach a speed of twenty miles per hour.
"It doesn't make any sense," He'd groaned afterwards. "Your reflexes are plenty good! Why are you so afraid to drive a car?"
"It's not my fault!" Asuna had retorted vehemently, crossing her arms in defiance. "It's just this mental block I have, like I'm going to make a mistake somehow. Don't tell me you didn't have the same problem!"
"Well...no, I didn't."
"Shut up, Kazuto."
"Okay."
Asuna was still keeping her head ducked under the wheel, trying to hide from the world. Kazuto poked her in the side and prompted her, but the girl just groaned in frustration and tried to ignore it all.
"Asuna," Kazuto sighed in exasperation, "Get up. We'll go at it again."
Silence.
Frowning, he sat back and tried to look at the situation from a wider angle. It was always difficult to deal with Asuna when she got like this. She was usually a very optimistic and hopeful person at heart, but when she grew overly frustrated with something it was nigh impossible to break her out of her funk. This would require precise, careful planning. But what to do? The only way he could think of right now was-
Kazuto's train of thought derailed for a moment to be replaced by a slow, steady grin that spread across his face and gave him an almost maniacal look. Ah, yes. Of course. That method.
"Asuna..." He repeated, leaning over to bring himself closer to the girl's ear, only this time he changed his tone of voice. Deeper, more seriously, more huskily this time, making sure that his breath would just barely reach out far enough to tickle Asuna's ear.
It went exactly as planned. Asuna's ears literally perked up at the sound of his voice and she lifted her head in inquiry, letting out a brief, "Yes?"
"I'll make an offer for you," Kazuto elaborated, reaching out to press a hand to the back of Asuna's head and pulled her face closer to his. "Something quite simple really...an uncomplicated transaction."
"C-Care to explain?" Asuna replied, just barely hiding the stutter, but not well enough for it to slip past Kazuto's attention. She could feel his fingers tangling lovingly between the strands of her hair, exerting just enough force to tug at the silky locks hard enough to send tingles through her skull. His lidded eyes that stared almost hungrily not at her own eyes, but the region below them. But it was always his scent that got her, the smell of crushed peppermint mixed with something that was unidentifiable, but was still distinctly Kazuto.
"Give it your best shot," Her boyfriend whispered to her, "And I'll...reward you."
Kazuto punctuated this with a quick lick of his tongue at her lower lip before pulling away, drawing an involuntary whimper from Asuna's throat. She was about to ask him to please come back and finished what he'd started, but remembered what Kazuto had just said and sighed, turning back to the wheel.
Well, at least there's proper incentive now.
A week and a half later, Kazuto was sitting in his room working on a computer algorithm when his phone buzzed.
"Hello?"
"I passed the test."
Another slow grin. "See, I knew you could do it."
An agitated huff came at him from the other end of the line. "Sure, but I'm not very happy about how I went about it."
"And why is that?"
He could feel the heat from Asuna's face through the phone. "We spent most of our time kissing instead of learning how to drive!"
Kazuto snorted and leaning back in his chair, observing the codes scampering across his screen. "If I recall properly, the kissing was excellent for motivating you to learn. Am I wrong? Or do you think you could have done it without my incentive?"
There was a silence at the other end of the line that for a moment he thought Asuna had hung up. But then she muttered, "Thanks," Before cutting the connection.
Tsunderes...
Welcome to hell, Kazuto thought when he saw the front door of the Yuuki residence.
Well, alright, perhaps he was exaggerating. Surely a dinner with the Yuuki family brought its fair share of headaches, but it was certainly far from deserving of the description hell. More like medieval Europe. In any case, he was currently standing in front of the polished wooden door dressed in the spiffiest manner he could come up with. And while Kazuto had every intention of knocking on said door and entering (assuming he was admitted) part of him still wanted to turn on his heel and walk back home.
Briefly, Kazuto hypothesized on what Asuna's elder brother would be like. Probably tall, as Asuna and her father were, although this might not be the case considering the mother's petite stature. Piercing, intelligent eyes, to be sure. The entire family had them, even Asuna, although there was a certain softness there to hide the cunning intelligence she harbored within. Kazuto's most prominent dilemma, however, centered around his ability to make a good impression. From all the stereotypes and overexaggerated claims he'd gathered, a disapproving older brother could be a serious pitfall in any relationship. Not that he put much weight in those reality TV shows, but some of it made sense, at least.
Well, nothing risked, nothing gained, I suppose, Kazuto thought, reaching up to knock solidly on the wooden door.
Nobody came to open it immediately, as Kazuto hoped they would, because the waiting was going to kill him and he knew it. He was forced to wait nevertheless, and it took so long that he was startled when the door actually did open.
"Hi, Asu-"
He was forced to chop off the last syllable when his eyes focused on someone who was definitely not Asuna. The man was tall, with a good five inches on Kazuto, with broad shoulders that tapered down to a slim waist and long, athletic looking legs. He was dressed in a pair of black dress pants and a simple shirt that was rolled up to the elbows, and he stood there now, holding the door open, smiling amiably at him.
"Ah, welcome. You must be Kazuto."
Kazuto just barely recovered quickly enough to avoid saying "Huh...wha...?" and managed to blurt out, "Thank you very much. Are you Asuna's brother?"
He nodded to confirm this. "Yes, I am. I've heard plenty about you from my sister, and I have been wishing to meet you face-to-face for quite some time now, but my work did not permit it. I am here now, however, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Ah...I'm honored," Kazuto murmured as he accepted the older man's offer to shake hands, surprised at how strong his grip was.
"Well, it is quite rude for me to have the guest stand outside for so long, so please do come in," Asuna's brother invited, ushering Kazuto inside. Once the door was closed, he walked halfway up the stairs and called, "Asuna, he's here."
"Eh!?" Came the chagrined groan from above. "But I'm not ready yet!"
"You've been up there for a solid hour!"
"So what!"
The elder brother shook his head in affection and turned back to address Kazuto. "You should be flattered; my sister rarely cares what others think of her appearance," He chuckled, and Kazuto smiled slightly along with him.
"Ah," The older man blinked suddenly. "And also to add, my name is Hideki Yuuki. Dinner will be starting soon, but until then, I think you should go check on my sister. She seems quite disgruntled, from what I heard."
"Thank you," Kazuto said politely, and Hideki smiled again before leaving the hall.
Kazuto stared at the man's back as it retreated and thought, I have no idea what to think of him.
Kazuto had never really developed a habit of knocking on doors before he entered them, seeing as he had never spent any significant amount of time at another's home before Sword Art Online. While such a habit usually did not have any negative effects on Kazuto's life, they could occasionally lead to some rather embarrassing situations where he would walk in on something he was not meant to see.
This was to be one of those times, although if Kazuto was asked whether he would have knocked if he'd known what would take place, he probably would have been conflicted at what to say. In any case, he pushed open the door the moment he reached it and sang out, "Asu-"
For the second time that night, Kazuto was cut off before he could finish the name when someone screamed at the other side of the room and launched a hard pillow into his face, the force of the impact throwing his body back out of the door. Before Kazuto was evicted, however, he caught sight of Asuna crouching on her bed, virtually naked, save for a set of lingerie clinging to her body and hiding all the important parts.
Wait...what?
He lacked the opportunity to dwell on that, however, because his head had impacted with the floor back now and the door had been thrown shut.
Meanwhile, Asuna stared at the door she'd just kicked closed for a moment before screaming at herself and slapping a palm to her forehead. She knew she should have locked the door...why hadn't she? More lack of thinking on her part. Sighing, Asuna crossed back to the mirror sitting opposite her bed and went back to staring at herself, momentarily forgetting about the boy she'd thrown out of the door only recently. Frowning in thought, she reached up to tug at the waistband of the lingerie. Was she really going to wear it? It would be a waste not to, not to mention an insult to Hitomi, but she just didn't know...
And now Kazuto probably knows I own lingerie, Asuna thought in agony.
She looked herself over one last time.
Well, nothing risked, nothing gained...
Kazuto was sitting cross legged on the floor outside Asuna's room, waiting patiently so that when she did come out (if ever) he would be prepared to offer a proper apology.
At last, the knob turned and the door was pulled open. He jumped to his feet and began to apologize, but Asuna just help up a hand and silenced him.
"You saw nothing," She said, making sure their eyes locked to emphasize her point.
Kazuto swallowed under the force of her gaze and said, "Ah...yes, ma'am."
Clink, tap, scrape...
Trying his best to keep his eyes fixed on the plate of food before him, Kazuto pulled another modest mouthful into his mouth and chewed slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible.
The rest of the table was equally silent, save for the sounds of utensils clinking against plates and bowls and the soft sounds of chewing echoing through the room, further amplified by the utter lack of conversation.
Are all their meals like this?
Kazuto was sitting next to Kyouko, Asuna's mother, something that had made him nervous at first to hear. Despite the small amendments he had made to their relationship that one day at the hospital, the woman was still very much detached from him and his life, something Kazuto was painfully aware of. She wasn't really making any eye contact with him at the moment, something Kazuto was partially glad for, since it would have been awkward to have to look down on the woman to talk to her.
Asuna was sitting across from him, also quietly munching on her food, although she would press her foot against his in reassurance every now and then. Hideki sat to her left, and at the head of the table was Shouzou, the father. Kazuto had just about resigned himself to not speaking for the rest of the night when Asuna's brother cleared his throat loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"You know, Kazuto, you seem to be a very quiet type," Hideki said with the usual smile. "From what I heard from Asuna, I would have expected you to be more outspoken."
His hair is jet black, Kazuto noticed absently. It was much like Shouzou's in color and texture. Kyouko's hair was considerably lighter, but it only achieved a sort of light brown tone that did not come close to the honey-colored locks that tumbled down her daughter's back. Perhaps Asuna's hair color was something rare in the family.
"Oh, he is outspoke," Asuna chimed in, practically kicking him under the table to prompt Kazuto to speak. "Isn't that right, Kazu-kun?"
Kazuto blinked and looked up, making eye contact with Hideki. "Ah, yes, I do tend to be outspoken sometimes," He rambled, searching for some sort of purchase in the exchange. "But I have my quiet moments as well, I suppose."
Hideki hmmed and nodded in understanding, forking some more of his salad. "My sister seems to be quite fond of you. Have you been treating her well?"
Deciding he needed to have a greater presence in the conversation, Kazuto smiled wryly at Asuna and said, "I try my best."
Hideki chuckled when his sister ducked her head, and changed topics. "I see. I've also heard that you exhibit an exceptional skill in the computing field; am I correct in this assumption?"
Kazuto remembered Asuna saying that her brother hadn't even been aware of his existence until very recently, and wondered how she'd told so much in such a short amount of time. "Yes," he nodded. "It's been a hobby of mine since I was young, and I plan to pursue a career in it, software programming in particular."
Asuna's brother nodded and closed his eyes, smiling at apparently nothing in particular.
"In that case, Kazuto, I have a proposition for you."
Shouzou glanced upwards from his dinner to stare at his son. Kyouko also lifted her head to join her husband, the looks on their faces suggesting that they had a very good idea of what was coming next.
"Hideki, you can't mean..." Shouzou began.
"I do," The elder child said firmly, setting his utensils down carefully on the table. Then he clasped his hands together and set them on the edge of the table, clearing his throat for the coming monologue.
"Kazuto," Hideki explained, "You may already know this, but I have managed to gain a solid foothold in the business world, namely in a company named Complexity. It specializes in developing and testing future technologies that have the potential to because immensely useful to the general populace in the foreseeable future. As you know, Kazuto, many of these technologies involve plenty of programming and software development. But I will hasten to my point; I am offering you an internship at Complexity, and should you accept it, you may one day become employed by them if you so wish."
Asuna's eyes had gone wide by now, and her gaze flitted between her brother and her boyfriend, wanting to demand what the hell was going on but too afraid to miss more information as a result.
"I would ensure that your work schedule would not interfere with your studies in college," Hideki continued. "If you want to know more, you can always come ask me."
"I know about Complexity," Kazuto said slowly, even his exceptional brain struggling to catch up. "They're the world's leader in innovative technologies. They were the ones who came up with the original concept of VR. Hideki-san, what you're offering me is..."
Shouzou grunted and set his own utensils down. "What my son is offering you now is a splendid opportunity, Kazuto. But also mind that it may close all other career choices for you in the future. Enlisting with Complexity is something that will stay with you forever, regardless of whether you choose to stay or not. Remember that."
"I'll give you some time to think about it," Hideki smiled. "You have until your graduation to decide, in any case. Just give it some thought, okay?"
"Sure," Kazuto murmured, still trying to figure out the implications of what had just transpired.
Meanwhile, Asuna was trying to catch up on an entirely different subject.
"I thought you were an accountant," She finally said blandly, and Kyouko facepalmed herself.
As always, thanks a ton for reading an leave a review if you have anything to say! ^_^
And on another note, what do you guys think about Hitomi's character? Is she a good OC? If it works out, I plan to use her as a major character in the future…give you your thought! Thanks.