Title: Riverside

Prompt: Clean

Summary: Kirito doesn't know what to do about girls. And water. Especially a girl he's known for a mere two weeks.

Splash… Boots fell to the side of the earthen shore and a pair of pale ankles dipped into the shallows.

Kirito looked away from Asuna, scarlet bleeding into his cheeks. What number was this now? How long had he done this ritual while traveling with his fellow adventurer?

But to be honest, at least to himself, it wasn't too many. He could count the number on both hands. The girl didn't seem to notice, or worse, didn't say anything because she did. It made it worse. More awkward.

The black-and-red cloaked duo had come across another river on the Second Floor of Sword Art Online, just beyond the safe zone of the main city, Urbus. Another one, Kirito emphasized to himself.

Every time they found a moving body of water, it seem Asuna would demand they stop by the closest shallow pool and she would just stand there for a while. A few minutes of contemplation, eyes stuck on the water. Sometimes she would move on, saying "Let's go. We're losing sunlight." Some other times she would make some unspoken decision and tell him, "I'm taking a small dip."

Their friendship… Whatever it was, it felt too early to call it one. Too new, too fragile. But today was Day Twelve of traveling with the girl as a regular feature of his new, trapped life in a virtual reality game.

Twelve days since they cleared the First Floor boss room, since Kirito declared himself a pariah from the floor clearing campaigners. Twelve days since she demanded to go with him despite knowing him for maybe 48 hours max up to that point.

Sword Art Online game proper was proving to be an experience of many dangerous first for Kirito. The least of them on his mind now was the Death Game threat. No, Asuna was the first-first he was worrying over now. Watching what he said. Watching his distance from her. Watching, schooling his own expressions around her. It was so tiring after the first day they met. The tire just continued day after day.

He didn't choose to go down this path. Asuna demanded and followed him instead. Would she have stalked him if he said 'No?' Kirito tried to warn her off. He tried to…

And yet, part of him could not deny his deep, closed-off revelation. That he didn't hate it, he didn't hate her. Asuna. She made him nervous. Excited him. Made him feel things he didn't feel since grade school. Warm and fuzzy; tired and burned out. It felt right, and it felt wrong.

It was inarguable for himself to say, he was babysitting her in the game. Explaining game mechanics and basic game theory logic to her. It was for her survival, her safety in this Death Game. She required a lot of time and investment of his energy, but Asuna was also a quick study. Maybe it was the formal education she briefly mumbled about on several occasions.

Her successes brought him joy. Her successes were his successes. Was this how his grandfather felt when Kirito won his first kendo competition? Or how he felt about his cousin Suguha's kendo victories?

Maybe Kirito was starting to understand what it meant to be a teacher. His success with Klien earlier in the month was enjoyable in its own right too. But there was a shadow to this feeling as well. An awareness he felt since Day One, since the First Floor boss room. He told her to leave. Told her to find strength and lead the Sword Art Online players to escape the Death Game because she had the strength, talent, and charisma to do it.

He burned what little good will and charisma he had so she could fly and flourish. But Asuma chose the shadows with Kirito instead. How long would it last?

When his stupid face set Asuna off and made her angry? When he made a dumb comment at her expense and she takes offense and just leaves? When she decides she's learned all she can from him and strikes out on her own? When she finally realizes Kirito was a creepy loner like all the other gamer guys?

When will Asuna leave? The longer she stayed, the more it would hurt he knew it. Knew it because she hurt him now just by being present. She did things to his mind, his chest. He liked it; he hated it. He felt stuck but couldn't do anything at all.

Couldn't speak his feelings, couldn't express his frustrations. Say something, yell something. Either one would break the spell. Destroy the dream. Kirito never had a girl in this close proximity before. And never for this long.

Suguha didn't count, his cousin was family. Argo was a friend in a manner of speaking, but not really a girl either. More like his personal stalker, or otherwise business partner. Asuna was different, and fragile. Strong but fragile for him. No. She wasn't fragile, he was.

Scared. He was scared.

"Kirito?"

The boy dressed in a dark cloak jolted with a quiet yelp. He refused to look at Asuna.

"Y-yeah?"

Asuna was quiet for a moment. "Kirito. Turn around."

Kirito finally complied, slowly turning around after a moment of terrorizing contemplation. His black eyes trailed up slowly, with unfocused intent away from Asuna's form. He avoided her long legs, her thin frame even as he kept shooting focusing glances in the general direction. Her amber hair was a reddish blur in his darting, virtual eyes.

"Yeah?" He tried again, trying to sound more confident.

"Come on in, the water is nice."

Kirito planted his eyes on the ridge of Asuna's button-like nose. Anything to stay away from anything else that might give his struggle away. Anything to not scare her away.

"I'd rather not, Asuna. I got to go upriver for a little bit anyway. There's a really quick puzzle quest on a rope bridge. If I'm quick, I get to pick the name of the river here!"

Kirito offered himself a fervent nod, while honest, he still felt he needed to convince himself of this truth. It was the truth after all, not a lie. Right. Right?

The girl's voice dropped a little bit, becoming meek. "Oh, just give me a second to quick dry… I'll come along with you. I just wanted to lay in the water for a little bit."

"Oh no! That's alright," Kirito stammered back, his wide eyes still planted on Asuna's own reddened face. For a moment, he forgot all about his embarrassment and fear. Kirito's virtual face muscles relaxed and was left in fear of another kind. "It won't be long, just an hour at most. I promise I will be back quick! I don't want to bother you."

"No, Kirito. I don't want to bother you. I slowed you down by making you party with me. The least I can do is follow your schedule." Asuna countered while curling her arms behind her back. An awkward gesture, but Kirito allowed himself in his forgetfulness to once over Asuna fully. Slight relief rolled over him as she seem to put on a large towel over her entire form while in the river.

Kirito gave a long, drawn out sigh. Asuna watched him, eyeing him up and down and looking towards his left arm as if reflecting the doubt and awkwardness Kirito felt. But that was impossible. A girl feeling bad for his sake? No way at all. Kirito denied it, threw the thought away quickly.

"Look, we can stay here. There will be more rivers and other landmarks to name on this floor and higher floors. We don't have to rush. We can stay." Kirito tried to reason.

Asuna's amber eyes met Kirito's. Neither pulled away for a long moment, sticking to one another and their awkwardness either forgotten or inducing the stalemate.

"Alright," Asuna accepted finally, accepting her victory with none of the pride Kirito came to expect of her. "We'll stay. But you should join me in here still."

"I just don't think it's a good idea."

Asuna shook her head. "Just this once; once in a while? The water feels nice, and its not a fast current. It's nice to be clean every so often."

"I suppose so," Kirito conceded without moving or budging. He remained there, still like a statue on the shore.

After a moment, Asuna raised an arm and gestured the boy towards her. "Come on. Come in."

The girl raised an outreached hand to Kirito. Awkwardly, but with some mustered bravery, he took two steps and accepted Asuna's soft grip tugging him, fully clothed, into the water.

The cool liquid enveloped the duo. Kirito allowed its wet nothingness to wrap him in a feeling as if a dream. Maybe if he stuck his head under the water, he would drown and wake up in his own bed in the real world. Free of the Death Game, free of this embarrassment and fear of Asuna.

"Take a seat, doesn't that feel better? A little less dirt or sweat." Asuna whispered close. She let go of Kirito's hand but remained ever at his side as they both sat down on the small pebbles below the river's surface.

Kirito nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

They sat in silence. No play splashes or weird, awkward conversation starters. Like adults, like friends. Kirito didn't look at Asuna but his mind stuck on her anyway. This was nice. Nice to feel clean for once. She was right.

And it was nice to have a friend. He hoped they could stay like this for a little while longer.

A/N: SAO Fanfiction Central once more brings a seasonal, themed week of short story challenges about character from the Sword Art Online franchise. I'm approaching the small project with a little more relaxed self-expectations after the years-long struggle with the Kirito and Argo romance challenge from 2021 that I still have yet to complete three years on. And thank you to 7thskydark for organizing the 2024 KiriSuna Week!

I hope you enjoy what I've cooked up, though I can only suspect themes and stories I weave will be well-trodden ground in a franchise as old as SAO.

The suggested themes for this year's KiriSuna Week challenge are also relaxed and in no particular order or options (including all of them below for my own notes): Clean, Wonder, One Kiss, Dancer, Cold, Flowers, Sunrise / Sunset, Always, and Jewelry.