Koharu
"We're still in the safe area, Koharu," Jaymes murmured as he placed his back against a tree, sliding down with his arms crossed. "There won't be any monsters around; even if there were, you two could take them on."
Koharu smiled at his protests and knelt beside him. He may not have wanted to come here, but she knew he'd stay put for her sake, if nothing else. "I know, but just in case a villager comes by, you can ward them off."
He sighed and removed his sword from his back, placing it in his lap. "...Yeah, I know. Just don't take too long. Listening to girls bathe is bad for my health and mind. And if coincidences happen, I bet Sanya will try to kill me. I'll kill her first, though." He might've said that jokingly, but his tone was serious enough that Koharu reflexively reprimanded him with a slap on the shoulder. He barely winced and looked at Koharu. "Yes, yes, I won't joke about that...for the rest of the night."
"Geez, what am I going to do with you?"
"Won't go on a date with me, that's for one."
"As I've said before, when you grow up, I'll consider it. Though we hadn't taken a true break since the tenth floor, huh? Hmm..." Koharu was unsure of what Jaymes was asking her out for. Did he mean a friendly date or a date date? Like a date couples go on? Like a date lovers go on? When he asked, it was so casual that she took it in jest, but if he was serious, then she felt terrible. Koharu's inexperience with boys plagued her.
Granted, she's almost fifteen years old. She should be worried about entrance exams for high school right now, not surviving a video game. But whether it was school, gymnastics meets, or piano lessons, Koharu's last thoughts were boys. Sure, she's been confessed to many times, but she didn't have time for them back then. Maybe high school could've changed that.
The last two months certainly did. Between Jaymes and Kirito, she learned much about boys, though they're far from what she'd consider ideal. They're both reckless, self-sacrificing, overprotective do-gooders. The only difference between them is their personalities regarding social skills, especially women; Kirito is more awkward, while Jaymes starts has a mean streak with confident women such as Sanya and Asuna. But underneath that rough exterior was the kindest boy Koharu had ever met. Someone who, over the last two and a half months, she could call her best friend and her cherished partner.
Now, she cannot say she held romantic feelings for him, but she knew she was pretty possessive of him. It was unreasonable, but there had been times she got insanely jealous when Jaymes interacted kindly with other women who were insanely beautiful in her eyes. Or, in the case of Silica, a girl younger than Koharu, he doted on her like she was his little sister. She hid those emotions well enough, but if that was a precursor for what could come, Koharu didn't know what to do.
She is right on one thing: they could use a "date" and remind themselves that they don't have to dedicate their entire lives to the frontier. Being teenagers every once in a while couldn't hurt. Her mind set on a break, she placed her hand on his shoulder again, this time in a gentle grip. "Hey... After we clear this floor, how about we take a break? Not from the front lines completely, but we relax in the next town for the rest of that day?"
"Huh? Are you getting tired, Koharu?"
"N-no... Well, maybe, and I'm sure you are, too. As I said, it has been a while since we took things slow. If we want to beat this game, it's best to rest occasionally. We should do that next time, provided we don't run into a quest like today."
He pondered that with a frown, and Koharu was almost sure he'd deny her. Yet he smiled softly and raised his hand to hers. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Taking it easy won't hurt. Now take your bath. Don't want Sanya figuring out you got me here, do you?"
"Right. I'll message you when we're about to leave if you don't hear it first." Koharu got up and walked a few steps. She opened her system menu, ventured to the equipment option, and removed her armor and clothing with two button presses. She had a towel prepared to go around her body, so after ensuring it was snugly in place, Koharu turned back to the tree her partner sat behind. Like an obedient dog, he hadn't turned his head. That was one of his good traits, yet it somehow pressed a nerve within her. She didn't understand why it bothered her that he didn't try to sneak a peak despite the plethora of opportunities.
"...Hey, Jaymes?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you join me next time?"
"...If it's just us and you're okay with it..." His face was hidden, thanks to his brown skin mixing with the darkness of night and his position behind the tree, but his voice ratted out his embarrassment. Wearing a proud smile, Koharu walked down the sloping bank to the creek. Nimbly descending, careful not to stub her foot, it wasn't long before she made it to Sanya's position at the creek's edge.
Her jaw dropped when her eyes met Sanya's form. Instead of her usual twin-tailed hairstyle, the Silver Witch's hair is entirely free and down. Her body is flawless, curvaceous, and milky white as if chiseled from marble by a Greek artist. What made it better was that this avatar reflected Sanya's actual body, as the NerveGear scanned the user's body and replicated it for Akihiko Kayaba's plan. If Koharu were a guy, she'd be unable to sleep peacefully without dreaming of the beauty before her.
Once again, Koharu felt like a mortal among goddesses. Forget whether or not Jaymes liked her enough to go on a date, why would he choose her over someone like Sanya who's way more beautiful? Isn't that what guys want? And why did it bother her so much for him to act that way?
Ignoring the conflict in her heart, Koharu stepped closer to Sanya as she took her naked form into the water. The water was waist-high at its deepest, and the ground sloped steadily so that one could enter the creek easily. Sanya got to where the water was knee-high and sat down before proceeding to wash herself. Koharu kept some distance between them, but acted in the same manner after a momentarily scan of the area and removing her towel.
"Ty takaya krasivaya," she heard come out of Sanya's mouth, though it must've been meant as a whisper. That wasn't Japanese; though she wasn't fluent in the language, she knew English when she heard Jaymes speak it. Did that mean Sanya wasn't Japanese or an English speaker? Now that she thought about it, Sanya spoke formal Japanese, whereas Jaymes (who is half-Japanese) spoke as informally as Koharu did.
She glanced at Sanya's direction again, putting the puzzle pieces together. She had long, greyish-white hair, an unparalleled beauty, a rough attitude, and an air of formality. She'd be a foreign transfer from Europe or Russia in a manga, and the latter seemed most correct.
She stared too long, though, and caught Sanya's eye. Frightened, Koharu looked away and apologized. "S-sorry for staring at you."
"Hmm? Oh, it's fine. Though it should be me staring at you."
"Huh?"
"I don't know how to explain it, but it's like...the moonlight only chooses to shine upon you. The rest of the floor-nay, the world-is enveloped in darkness, but you are simply radiant. Like a moon goddess or something. Are you the second coming of Devana? Or I guess that'd be Kaguya for you." Sanya crossed her arms in thought, then shrugged as if to drop the matter. "What I'm saying is... I see why he chose a partner like you."
"He isn't like that." Koharu retorted without thinking. She didn't notice how harsh her tone was until she replayed the moment in her head, then gasped to herself. Sanya probably meant what she said - no, Sanya certainly meant it - but Koharu took it as a slight on her partner's character. She was still confused about being compared to the princess of the moon, too. "Wh-what I mean is..."
"I might not know that idiot like you do, but he did save my life yesterday and swore not to tell my secret, even if it made him rich. There aren't many boys who would go that far for a stranger. Hell, there aren't many people who'd risk their lives for a stranger, knowing they could possibly die in the process—myself included. But if he's protecting you this hard, you must've known him long before SAO."
"No."
"No? Then that doesn't make sense. Why would you trust your life to a stranger - a boy nonetheless? If you're going to surround yourself with strangers, then wouldn't you be safer with a group of women?"
"No. I mean... I do get your concerns about trusting a stranger with my life. If he wanted to, Jaymes could kill me. I'm nowhere close to his skill yet. There are dangerous women too, such as the one in that group of PKers, who'd I say is more psychotic than the rest of them." Bringing her knees to her chest, Koharu glanced up at the moon, three-fourths of its body visible through the apertures at the castle's edge. "We met in the beta. He helped a poor girl like me in a dungeon, and for some unknown reason, I wanted to play this game with him. I didn't know his real name. I didn't know what he truly looked like. He could have been an older teenager, an older man, or even a girl. But I felt an attraction to the person in front of me, regardless of the person on the other side, and wanted to see them again."
"Since I saw his real appearance, I've gotten to know him more. Not the apathetic front he tries putting up, but a caring, reckless, heroic guy. Because of him, I'm not walled up in some room on the first floor; I'm a member of the group who will liberate us from the game. I've become braver and more confident in myself since those days. My will sometimes falters, yet he's there to pick me up. And when he needs a shoulder, I'm there for him."
"You're right, Sanya. We don't know each other's real-life versions, but I haven't developed a different personality. The girl you see right now is the real Koharu. I bet the Jaymes I've known for three months is the real him. He could have chosen a beautiful woman as his partner. He's had opportunities. He could have joined a guild several times over. But he always chooses me. And you've said many reasons why I remain at his side and trust him completely. So you can tease or speak ill of him all you want but don't question his merit. I won't let anyone do that, friend or foe, else they'll have to deal with me."
Koharu couldn't view her face, but the muscles felt like she was fixing Sanya with a stern glare. She didn't understand why Sanya's words triggered her to rant. It was an unconscious defense of Jaymes. However, Sanya didn't seem to pay Koharu's gaze any attention. She snorted, turned her head, and looked at the dark sky. "It must be nice to have a friend like him, then. To have a friend you could rely on. To have a friend to watch your back. To have someone who isn't afraid of you. To have...a friend...in this world..."
The mood suddenly got awkward, and Koharu felt whiplash. Did Sanya drop her guard and admit to feeling lonely? If so, her walls were rebuilt quickly as she frowned at the forest. "Anyway, I apologize for causing any offense. I guess he is upstanding of character. He wouldn't do anything like try to peek at you while you bathe—"
"..."
"—or make inappropriate comments about your looks—"
"..."
"—or touch your breasts or try to make you press them against him—"
"..."
"—or worse, sleep beside you. Now that I think about it, he's the kind of dog who's all bark, no bite. I understand why you're so...red?"
Koharu could've admitted that Jaymes himself did none of those things (which is 100% true). However, she couldn't decline because everything Sanya had said happened. Aside from the comments, which are mutual between them, the other three were either her doing (they shared single-bed suites at inns and the dark elf castles since the second floor because she forced it), a natural reaction for their age (it's only natural he'd "peek" in her direction when they bathed in multiple hot springs while wearing swimsuits; she enjoyed seeing him try to look elsewhere) or coincidental (when they were swimming away from a fish on the fourth floor, she unintentionally pressed herself against his back after he grabbed her. She wouldn't know it until afterward just how thin her armor was). No, he would never do such things...purposely.
"Hahahaha...no, he wouldn't dare..."
"Why are you turning redder? Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine! Ahem... Huh? Oh, a message." Saved by the bell, specifically, the ringing alert of a received message. The sender is...Mater? The young girl they met on the lower levels, a solo player who's quite mysterious. Excited, Koharu stood up in the river and shouted, "It's from Mater!"
"A friend?"
Eyes ablaze with jubilee, Koharu yelled, "Yeah! She's been solo this entire time. This is the first time she's ever sent me a message! I'm glad. Let's see..." Koharu opened the message, not caring that anyone besides Sanya could see her in all her glory at the time."
It read, "I'll be coming to the 14th floor tomorrow, so let's meet up if you're free."
"We'll see you tomorrow!" Koharu gasped exuberantly for the first time since she heard Yuna play on her lute days ago. Mater was quite stoic about receiving a friend request from Koharu the last time they met. Getting a message from the younger girl was overwhelming for her. Not only did she send a message, but she also wanted to meet with Jaymes and her.
That set them for tomorrow...almost. She typed a reply, but before pressing "Send," she glanced at Sanya. She wanted to meet with Mater, but Koharu didn't want to inconvenience Sanya at the same time. Before she could get a word out, the gray-haired beauty smiled and muttered, "Bednaya devochka. Poor girl. It's fine with me."
"R-really?"
"I have nothing better to do tomorrow except wait on the old man, so that settles it. Let's meet up with your friend. It'd be foolish to stay here in the village waiting. Where will we meet her?"
Koharu had the answer to that in Mater's response. "She said she'll come our way, wherever we are. The area leading to the Stream of Grief is a good place to join, so we'll meet her there tomorrow morning."
"Oh, that's right where we came from," Sanya stated as she stood and walked to the shore, grabbing her towel. She stored it in her inventory; she materialized her armor and had her hair designed with the twin tails. "It shouldn't be challenging to get there, then. We should inform Jaymes when we return to the hut."
Koharu joined her on the bank, equipping her outfit as well. She glanced towards the woods, smiling aimlessly at the darkened woods before them. "Hehe. Something tells me he already knows."
"How?"
"Let's say he has good ears, whether he likes it or not."