Welcome to Chapter Eight, guys! I'm glad that I've made it this far, and I am totally absorbed into this story. If this chapter and others take a long time to be posted, then please forgive me, because life sucks too bad to let me finish chapters quickly. Also, I'm also seeming to be putting around four thousand words into each chapter, afternotes included.

In this chapter, Sophia and Nikki have some gamer girl fun in Halo while Ian meets Suguha again. I think I've got the characters down pat in terms of their behavior, thanks to rewatching SAO a hundred times (exaggerated number), but if I screwed up, then like always, please tell me. Finally, the last chapter's outro note kept getting deleted by the system, which sucks, because I put a lot of time into it. Anyways, enjoy!

Outside of the Kirigaya Residence, Kawagoe

Japan, Real World

May 23, 2022

Suguha Kirigaya

After going through the first school and kendo class day of the week, Suguha returned to her neighborhood, only to find a tall brown-haired boy standing at the wall-like fence around her house. For a second, Suguha was tempted to pull her shinai out and beat him off of it before remembering yesterday's events. Afterwards, she relaxed and stopped running just before she impacted him again.

"Hey, Suguha." Ian said, bowing at her.

"Uh, hey, Ian-san." Suguha bowed as well. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I follow my word." the boy said. "So, anything you want to talk about?"

"Um, just... stuff, I guess."

"Okay." Ian said, assuming a thoughtful pose of sorts.

What do I even say? Suguha thought. Should I ask about what he thinks about--

"Nice house." Ian initiated the conversation. "It looks well-taken care of."

"Oh, uh, yeah... it is." Suguha said, a little confused as to what to say. She regained some confidence and asked, "What's your place in America like?"

"I don't have a dojo at my place, but it's a two story house with a pretty big yard. I think I've got a bigger yard, but you've gone out of your way to keep it maintained."

"Your yard isn't maintained?"

"We trim it every month, but there's all kinds of sticks and stuff littering the yard from the storms. One perk of leaving home, no more intense heat, mosquitos, constant hurricanes, and thunderstorms."

"Is it really like that over there?" Suguha asked.

"Yeah, if you're in Florida and it's spring and summer."

"Whoa. That doesn't sound appealing."

"It's not so bad if you're used to it." Ian deadpanned. "In the case of the other states around Florida, I don't know about Alabama or Tennesse, but Georgia's a bit cooler and it doesn't rain so much. However, around 2018, it actually snowed over there, around the city of Waycross. I was there."

"You said that like it doesn't happen that often." Suguha noted, pushing a stray strand of hair back into place.

"It doesn't. I had a bunch of fun with the snowball fights I had with my siblings and friends, but it was cold, really cold for me."

"Hmmm. Well, if you're staying here until winter, then you'd better be prepared, because it gets really cold over here and it snows a lot."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ian said, straightening his shirt out. "How long have you been here?"

"My whole life." Suguha said, looking back at the house. "Same goes for Kazuto."

"Kazuto? Your brother?"

The girl nodded. "I'd really like it if I could figure out what's wrong with him. Or me, if it's something I did."

"I don't know what could've happened to cause your falling out, but I might be able to help you figure that out." Ian said.

He really wants to help, it seems.

"How do you plan on helping him?"

"I dunno. Maybe something bad or unsettling happened in your family and he found out? That makes some kind of sense to me."

Could that be the case? What if I was adopted, or he was? That would do it.

"I agree. I don't want to dig through the city records or anything, because I don't want to get into trouble."

"Is Kazuto good with technology?"

"I think so." Suguha told Ian. "Mom's big on computers, too, but she's super busy most of the time. So is Dad."

"If that's the case, then he might have dug into the city records and found something." Ian sighed. "Can we change subject, please? I don't want to pry anymore."

"Okay." Suguha thought of another topic to choose. "Um, what kind of stuff do you draw?"

"Anything that isn't NSFW." Ian replied. "Scenery, people, animals, nature, anything you need or want. I might go into commissioned art at some point."

"Could you draw my house?" Suguha asked.

"Definitely." Ian said, smiling. "I've been drawing for years, and I've got the colors for the sky and structures right, but I left my pencils and paper at the apartment."

"That's a bummer." Suguha said. "Um, how many friends do you have?"

"Thanks to my total honesty and social awkwardness, I only have one."

"Social awkwardness?"

"Yeah. I have trouble talking to people sometimes, and I have trouble understanding people." Ian explained. "How I'm talking to you clearly right now, I have no clue."

"Who's your friend?"

"A girl named Sophia." Ian answered. "She's been my best friend since childhood. If you want to meet her, then she's coming here tommorow with her family."

"Oh, really?" Suguha asked.

It seems like there's a lot of tourism this time of year.

"Why are so many Americans coming here all of a sudden?"

"Allan wanted to get his hands on some new tech, and Sophia's family has business here."

"Does that 'new tech' happen to be virtual reality?"

"Um, yes. I'd like to have it, too, but that's not the reason I agreed to travel to Japan."

"That's fine. You could talk to Kazuto with it from your place, but I'm not a fan of gaming or anything."

Ian took a quick look at the surroundings and sighed.

"Are you running late again?"

"No, Ian-san." Suguha replied.

Nothing else was said for a few minutes, and the two teenagers seemed to just stand there until Ian broke the silence.

"It's kind of funny, you know."

"What?"

"We bumped into each other yesterday, and we just seemed to click." Ian said. "I'm way too used to having to spend years with someone just so I can truly call them a friend, but it seems like those years just happened over the course of a few days."

Americans are strange... Suguha thought.

"Oh, really? How?"

"I don't know. Maybe you're just more honest than most of the people back home."

That's probably true, and I can just tell that he's honest and kind.

"Are they that bad?"

"Yeah, despite everyone's best efforts, there will always be liars or thieves or people who believe in the wrong things." Ian chuckled. "Because it's better to lie to people and steal from them than tell them the truth. I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Yeah, I've got your point. What about your family?"

"They've got common sense, and in terms of how they're holding up, Sophia's family paid them a visit yesterday, or today, so they're fine. Crap, I'm so confused at the time difference."

"Yeah, it must be confusing for you. I've never really thought about it."

Or other countries, for that matter.

"Um, how good are you at kendo?" Ian asked.

"I've been at it for years, so I managed to get to the quarternationals at some point recently."

The older boy's luminous green eyes seemed to shimmer a bit more than usual as he registered her words.

"That's so cool, Suguha! I wish I could get as good as you at some point!" Ian exclaimed in awe.

Suguha stood there a little awkwardly, wondering what this behavior was about. One moment, this boy was calm and collected, talking about his country's screwed up population, and now he was jumping around like a little kid with candy. At that point, Suguha got an idea.

"Hey, Ian-san?"

"Um, what is it, Suguha?"

"Would you like to learn some stuff about kendo from me? I'd be glad to teach you, and ever since Kazuto quit kendo, my practice has been a bit lonely... so, do you want to?"

I think I said that a little too seductively, even though I only offered to be his kendo teacher-- wait, don't tell me he took it that way!

Several very embarrasing images materialized in the kendo practitioner's head, and she didn't notice the boy ask her if she was alright as she developed an embarrased look on her face, the blush even more evident on her pale skin.

"Suguha, what's the matter?" Ian asked again, a little more confidently.

"U-uh, nothing, i-it's fine." Suguha spluttered, the embarrasment still evident on her face.

"That's not what your face says." Ian said, slowly and carefully setting his hand on her shoulder. He took it as a good sign when she didn't throw his arm off. "You might have been a little too suggestive-sounding, but I won't do that kind of stuff. That's a promise."

"Yeah, I freaked out a little, but I'm fine."

"If you want a straight answer, then I'll definitely take your offer, Suguha."

"You will?" Suguha couldn't believe this. She was about to become this boy's kendo teacher, even though they've only known each other for two days.

"Yeah. Like I said yesterday, I've always wanted to practice kendo, since I really like that kind of stuff."

"Thank you for accepting, Ian-san!" Suguha said, pushing Ian's hand off of her shoulder and assuming a stoic pose. "I will make sure to teach you everything I know!"

"I should be thanking you, Suguha." Ian said, looking at the dojo in the back yard with a look of consideration. "You know, my sister said that I would be able to make new friends while I was here before I left. Thank you for doing this for me, I appreciate it."

"Uh, you're welcome." Suguha said.

"Okay, two things. One, could we begin training around next week, and two, are most of the people that like me girls?"

"We'll start next week and what do you mean by the second thing?"

"Between my twin sister, childhood friend, and you, I think I might have a literal harem of all things."

"Is that an otaku* term?"

"It's when a bunch of girls end up having feelings for one guy, but since they have to have romantic feelings for the guy, I'm confident that I don't have one. And I don't want one."

Nikki Becker

Becker Residence, United States

Nikki had never played such a tough 1v1 in her life. Sophia was truly giving it her all to beat her, and right now, she had fifteen kills while Sophia had seventeen kills. As with ninety percent of their duels, the main weapon used was a sniper rifle and the main game was Halo Reach (although they played 1v1s in Halo 4 and Halo: CE occasionally).

"Aw, crap!" she yelled as Sophia sniped her avatar. Again.

"You should pay more attention, Nikki." the redhead said, reloading her rifle. A few seconds later, she was attacked from behind and was forced to watch a white and cyan Spartan spin her violet and white one around and kill her with a knife.

"Same goes for you." Nikki said with a smirk.

"I'm going to get you for that." Sophia said, and after she respawned, a richochet round bounced off of the wall and struck her in the back of the head.

"That was cheeky, Nikki." she groaned as Nikki cheered in accomplishment.

"How does it feel to get shot like that, Soph? The fun fact is, I did not plan that."

"It sucks. A lot." Another sniper shot punctuated the reply as Nikki's shields broke completely from it. In response, Nikki fired a shot that almost hit her head again.

"You're lucky a bug flew into my line of sight, you know." Nikki told her friend as Sophia fired yet another kill shot.

"Nah, you just suck at sniping."

Nikki's next kill was an assassination, followed by a few extra shots being fired into her then-rival's violet armored body as an insult to injury.

"How you managed to get to me to do that, I don't know." Sophia said.

"Eh, you were too busy insulting my aim to notice. I was really unaware of how you can get during 1v1s."

"Eh, it's a friend thing." She looked up to see her avatar falling to the ground from a very telltale vapor trail. "And you take advantage of me not looking to shoot me."

"Yep." Nikki reloaded as Sophia respawned, getting a swift revenge as the sniper round she fired hit the brunette's white and cyan avatar in the head.

"Hah! Twenty to nineteen, sucker!"

"I'll beat you. You know that, right?"

"Maybe in a few years, but this one's mine."

The two girls tied the game, killing each other in the end. As the post-game carnage showed, they decided to get some water and rehydrate before going back in.

"How did that even happen?" Sophia asked Nikki after taking a sip of water. "How did we tie that? I had more kills than you."

"You accidentally fell off the ledge, and suicides cost you a point." Nikki replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, yeah. Good game, Nikki."

"Good game, Soph. Maybe next time, soneone'll win, preferrably me."

"You're just sour about the fact that I'm better. Don't be, because there's a reason Ian always contacts me for high-end activities."

"I know. I'm still gonna beat you someday."

"Yeah. Someday. Let's just play matchmaking against other people or something."

"Sound good. Let's see who does better than the other.

After about two hours of PvP in Halos CE to 4 and some time outside (despite the heat), it was finally time for Sophia to leave. The Beckers and Autumns were now back outside and bidding each other adieu, with Sophia and Nikki exchanging some last-minute words.

"That was lots of fun, Soph." Nikki was telling Sophia. "Let's do that again sometime."

"Yeah. I didn't expect that last guy to bug out like that, though." Sophia said. "What kind of player runs from a Magnum of all things?"

"I don't know, Soph. It was Halo 3, for goodness' sake."

"I think he saw something different than a Magnum." Sophia commented. "Or, he saw that sword on your hip and peed himself."

"Why? I wasn't using a sword, so what stopped him from just shooting me before I pulled that sword?"

"That's a question for another day." Sophia said, smiling. "Anyway, thank you guys for everything."

"You're welcome." Nikki nonchalantly said, looking at the chatting adults stood at the Autumn's sedan.

"Do you think I'm a good match for your brother?"

Nikki looked at her friend, totally caught off-guard by her question.

"Umm, maybe. You can try to ask him out or something, but I'm not gonna be there to support you."

"Hmm, but I don't know if I'm actually in love with him or anything. What if he doesn't think of me as a potential lover?"

"Well, then you should just be his friend. Even if he finds love in someone else, you can still be his friend."

"Yeah." Sophia caught her friend off-guard again by hugging her. Nikki was a bit confused, but she got the memo and returned the hug.

"Thank you for being my friend, Nikki. I'm going to miss you."

"Same goes. I never noticed how soft your skin was until now."

"Uh, what?" Sophia asked, a faint trace of pink adorning her cheek.

"Nothing. Just make sure that idiot's okay."

"I will." They broke apart when Sophia's mother called her to the sedan so they could leave.

"Um, goodbye!" Nikki yelled as Sophia entered the silver car's passenger seat.

"Goodbye, Nikki!" Sophia said before the door closed and the car left the Becker residence, along with Nikki's only friend.

I sure hope she can do it. Nikki thought as she reentered the house. She deserves him, and I'll be damned if she gets cold feet before she does anything.

"Good luck, Soph."

This chapter was shorter than the last two, but it's important nonetheless. I have some things I want to clear up as well.

1) Ian will never have a harem throughout the series, despite the considerable amount of girls he's befriended.

2) This series will not feature any smut whatsoever, but there will be mild innuendos and suggestive themes.

3) I may have rushed the friendship process for Ian and Suguha, but sometimes, things can just click between two people and start a friendship. This is further solidified by the upcoming kendo training Suguha will provide.

4) I'm having trouble naming my stories and OCs, so the name "Lone Wolf Saga" doesn't fit Origin Story. However, the sequel to Origin Story will make the series moniker fit.

Anyways, this story's been a lot of fun to write, and I hope you find it as a well-written story with a good character base and compelling lore to it (it may use Rehi Kawahara's IP as a template, but I've built off of it to create this). Until next time, then.