[Alfheim Online, City of Alne, Upper District]
[Yuuki's POV]
When I opened my eyes, I was back in Alfheim, only now the streets weren't nearly as noisy compared to the tournament at the weekend, a nice change of pace I say. Stretching, I had to go through a bunch of check-ups in the middle of school, but for the first time ever I was daydreaming through it all.
I mean, given what this afternoon was, my head's been buzzing with thoughts, ideas, and all sorts of scenarios that were either good or terrible. Today I had a date, that alone had my head filled with noise and my chest tighter than a vice.
I've never experienced this before, read about it and seen it in media sure, but not actively involved. My hands felt clammy and I couldn't rationalize my thoughts entirely no matter how frequently I told myself it would all be fine.
"It's just a fun afternoon with Malzeno, nothing crazy or..." Maybe today I could...? And again my face broke out in a red flush, shaking my head rapidly to dismiss the thoughts. "Ah, come on, get your head out of the gutter!"
"Yeah, last thing I want to smell is a sewer today-" I nearly yelped, turning on my heels to find the boy in question approach me. "-chemistry class I nearly made mustard gas, who knew, rig-o-oh..."
Now, it was his turn to look all bashful as I offered him my best smile as I threw back my hair for him, winking. "Looks good? Gonna need some criticism, never tried this before,"
Nothing about my usual attire changed, only that I was missing my headband, having moved it to tie my hair back into a ponytail just like Aiko's would always sit in, the bow angled to my left.
Though, Malzeno still appeared to be catching flies before he made a quick retort, straightening himself out with a faint blush resting on his cheeks, nailed it. "Y-you look good-great! R-really inventive way to use your headband-love it, Cupcake," He then framed his hands like taking a photo. "What a catch,"
"Aw, thanks, glad I could even the playing field after your glow-up," I wagged a finger up and down concerning his recent new attire and looks.
Malzeno did a silly bow as though to revere me. "Compared to you Cupcake, I am a feeble mortal among men," That got a snort, followed by a laugh out of me. This dork always had something to rebuttal with.
A hand to my chest, I puffed it out with my eyes closed. "Then I expect nothing but the best today, hehehe,"
"Don't push it, short stack," Opening my eyes to his sly smirk, my pout barely lasted a second when my stomach growled, making my embarrassment worse when he laughed. "Man, it is a good thing I come prepared for these dire situations. Whatever would you do without me?"
"Now who's pushing it?" I huffed, poking his cheek while he scoured his menu. Within seconds, a decorative box landed in his hands, and the scents struck my nose instantly, causing another growl to leave my stomach. "A-are those...?"
"Fresh dango straight from Floor 10, picked them up just now, and given my record of completing all current quests to unlock what flavours they had, we've got quite the selection on hand," Malzeno smiled boisterously, presenting the box to me. "That's yours, threw in a few new ones you haven't tried yet, bit of a sneak-peak of what quests we have left for yourself,"
I held the box in one hand and immediately wrapped my other around him, swinging him side-to-side. "Thank you, thank you, thank you~! You're the dango master!"
"'Dango Master', adding that to the list..." He quickly noted before gesturing to the park benches that faced the fountain nearby. "I got us tea to go along with it, so park yourself."
"With pleasure!" Happily skipping away, I sat down and soon opened up the contents of various coloured and decorated dango. Some in my favourite colours to boot.
Together under the golden skies, we sat and enjoyed our meal, hopefully, Malzeno had actually gotten real food before this. We sat in a comfortable silence before I grabbed my mug of green tea to sip it with a content sigh. "I don't care if its dango, this is the best meal after a long day; what with school and check-ups,"
"How'd it go? I never asked," Malzeno turned to me.
I kicked out my feet, sipping more tea while staring at the fountain. "Never better, Doc's said I've gotten better. Not 'you're magically cured because reasons' but my results haven't been this high since... before Aiko passed,"
"That's good... I... how did... that go?" Out of the corner of my eye, Malzeno's hands played with his own mug, swirling the contents around. "When Merida and Aiko..."
Right, I never told him that, did I? Though, thinking about it now didn't hurt nearly as much. "Well, Merida was stubborn all the way through, she said, 'my brother's gonna clear that game with the best of the best, just watch', or something like that, that was the last thing she said to us,"
Malzeno rubbed his eyes for a split second, "Hah, yep that sounds like her. If only she knew a dashing rogue in black would become our Gilded Hero?" Then he shrugged, sitting back. "Sure was something to see back then, when we really thought we reached the end of our rope,"
"As for Aiko... it was harder than even our parents if you can believe it," That day was the worse day of my life, because even though I had the Sleeping Knights... I never felt so alone. "For a time, I genuinely didn't believe I had any reason to live, I was on a deadline, it's why I pushed myself all this time, to make one final memory with our friends, and for Aiko. Then... I met you again,"
"Aw, now who's being the flirt?" Malzeno fluttered his eyelashes, and I shoved him, smirking at his silly-cute laugh. "Well, I'm glad you did, otherwise I'd have never met someone to share in my taste of dango and sense of humour,"
"Oh I'm sure that's why," I rolled my eyes, the topic I'd avoid and find sensitive to speak about felt... nice, easy even. So easy I asked a question that plagued my mind. "You said you were there when SAO was cleared, what was that like?"
Blowing a raspberry, Malzeno looked to the World Tree high above Alne. "Man, that was a stressful day. Long-short, after beating the final quarter boss, Skull Reaper, ol' Blackie took a stab in the dark and literally ran his sword through the commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, Heathcliff,"
"I... okay, not what I was expecting, continue," Now I was heavily invested, scooting closer with my tea.
"Right... so after finding out the dear commander was immune, Blackie deduced based on many irregularities that Heathcliff was actually Akihiko Kayaba, guy had everyone played for fools, pretending to be our ally until that point he'd abandon us to the final 25 floors, himself waiting at the top as the 'Final Antagonist' of Aincrad,"
"Wow, that's some plot twist!" I gasped, seeing him mutter a curse under his breath.
"I know right? Well, after paralyzing us, Blackie challenged him to a duel to the death, if Blackie wins, we all go free, and well... here I am," Malzeno gestured lazily. "That fight was the hardest I've ever seen Kirito fight,"
"And he had the Dual Wielding skill too, erm... then again, if I had to fight the very guy that invented all the sword skills, I dunno if I could beat him, plus, he'd have the whole system to back him up," In reality, that might've been a fight I couldn't win.
"Kirito's reactions were good but it wasn't enough, Heathcliff nearly killed him but... Asuna broke free of the paralysis and... took the hit, killing her," I gasped at this but Malzeno didn't seem to phased by the ordeal. "To be completely honest, I have no idea how she survived but I'm not going to question how my friend is alive and well today, so I'll take weird game BS any day,"
"Amen," I sighed, slumping back in my seat. "So... what happened after?"
"Kirito lost his will to fight, got impaled but... then he somehow found the strength to take Heathcliff down with him, ending the game 25 floor early," Malzeno concluded, then did a seesaw motion with his hand. "Between you and me, feels a little anticlimactic ending the game early,"
"People were dying, seems a little important," I pinched my fingers close together.
"Okay, half of those was their own fault, I saw someone throw themselves off of Aincrad on day one to 'test' if the death game was real, surprise, idiot never returned," Malzeno threw his hands wide with false surprise. "But hey, silver lining, we're gonna 100% Aincrad this time around without theDeath Gamepart,"
"You bet, I heard the next 10 floors will be out soon," I replied, shifting the topic a little. "We'll need to prep beforehand; all the focus on the tournament's completely messed up our gathering schedule..."
"Relaaax, Cupcake," He patted my head. "Today we kick back and enjoy the afternoon, after the big wins from those sad saps we've got enough Yrd to crash the local economy!"
That made me blink, tilting my head worryingly. "That's... oddly specific,"
"Well, the Salamanders hate me for a reason, with the exception of the General behind closed doors," Malzeno's smile grew into a full-blown laughing fit as my jaw nearly unhinged itself. He... this guy crashed their economy!? "Hah, that's the same look Blackie and the others gave me! I found this crazy exploit before it got patched that let me duplicate an item that sold pretty well on their markets, all I did was auction them for cheap and let the dominos fall, hahaha!"
"You're insane!" I shoved his side, trying not to snicker at how crazy that sounded. I guess it was a minor incident but to do that over the course of what I can assume was a few days is scary to think about.
"Come on, it's funny, I see your cheeks twitching!" He prodded one to emphasize his point, making me wheeze.
"N-no they're not!" I huffed, holding back my laugh. "First a sneaky info broker, then a gambler, now Robin Hood, what haven't you done to get people to hate you more?"
"Um... well, it's safe to assume you guys keep me around for my good looks, charming personality, and witty banter," That stupid grin of his was stupid and cute.
Grumbling, I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. "Stop being adorable!"
"Eh?" And I prompted shoved him over the armrest of the bench, seeing his legs fly upward. Slowly, an 'OK' hand gesture rose. "I-I'll take that as a 'yes', leader,"
After our meal, best meal ever by the way, Malzeno left the next leg of our date to me. This led us across Alne to various shops that Asuna had shown me that not even Nori or Siune knew about, stuff that had more casual clothes for me to wear. Since I was stuck in the digital world all the time, I've wanted to try collecting stuff to wear to spruce up my day-to-day life, especially now that I had schoolwork to keep me busy for a change.
"You still alive out there?" I spoke up from behind a changing curtain while I experimented for a bit in front of a mirror.
"I've spent hours whittling down a boss's HP with a sniper in GGO for a drop, believe me, I can keep myself entertained, Cupcake," He retorted so I shrugged and gave myself a once-over for the final time, grinning at my new style. Not too flashy and comfortable too.
"Alrighty then, how's this for a change?" Throwing back the curtain, I gave a little spin to show off the whole outfit. For a more casual fit, I went with black stockings and matching flats. A dark purple skirt and obsidian coloured jacket, a pink t-shirt beneath.
"Well?" I held up two peace signs as I saw his eyes widen for a moment, clearly mesmerized, filling my heart with warmth at the reaction. Siune's right, all in presentation.
"I'm not very good at this sorta thing..." He smiled sheepishly, trying not to look at me directly.
"Do your best, I won't judge," Well, maybe a little but that's nothing he needed to know, putting my hands behind my back to lean forward.
"Hrm... i-it compliments your distinct colour, that being purple by combining several gradients without it feeling plain or unappealing to the eye... a-and I just think... it really brings out your eyes," Malzeno gave an honest answer, and I stood up straight, feeling my cocky attitude falter with a flush coming over me.
"You think so?" I pressed, his eyes locked to mine with a firm nod.
"Out of every outfit you've tried, all the various colour combinations and styles, definitely this one," At his sincerity and earnest look on his face, my cheeks were pulled into a bigger grin.
"Hehe, alright then, guess we have a winner," Opening the prompt for the clothes, I decided to pay for them without needing to change back into my combat attire, or until a trade prompt appeared from Malzeno.
"You said, and I quote with delicate accuracy, 'I'm expecting this to be the best surprise to date', you were quite adamant on that front, so as such, I shall provide the necessary donation," Giving a very posh accent to boot, I snorted a laugh and hit 'Accept', paying for the outfit before I tackled him into a tight hug.
"I owe ya big time, promise," Then his hand pushed my head back, freeing him to see Malzeno roll his eyes.
"No issue, barely put a dent in my wallet, besides, a deal's a deal," He seemed adamant on that front so I didn't push it and simply took his hand in mine tightly to finally free him from the mundane life of clothes shopping.
"Alright, then let's keep mov-" My words caught in my throat when I almost ran straight into another tall player, stumbling back into Malzeno. "Ah, whoops, sorry 'bout that, hehe," Scratching the back of my head sheepishly when the player gasped a little.
"You..." Blinking, I tore my gaze up to see a guy with tanned skin and dressed in bold red armour with matching red hair. It was that Salamander that had beef with Malzeno during the tournament... well, one that I could remember vaguely. The leader of the Red Sainglenn, Shinku.
"You... uh, who are you again?" Malzeno asked blankly, causing Shinku's veins to bulge.
"Don't act like you don't know me, you little rat-"
"Actually, that's Argo, are you sure we know each other?" Malzeno kept playing dumb, the corners of his lips twitching.
"I'm Shinku, the same person you... defeated in the tournament," Shinku swallowed his pride to say that much, yikes.
Now, a look of clarity formed on Malzeno's face. "Oooh, right, Sink!" He clicked his fingers at him.
"It stands for Crimson, you moron!" Shinku yelled in our faces.
"Uh dude, I'm not a genius but you typed it in Katakana, so the translation is 'Sink'," Malzeno and I snickered when the look on Shinku's face fell, mouthing the revelation before he swiped his menu open to check through this himself. "Welp, love to stay and chat about... whatever it is you were going to call me, but I'm on a lovely date with this fair maiden right here, so I must bid you adieu,"
My cheeks flared up at that string of words as his hand squeezed mine and tugged me away, though I hadn't a proper response, I probably looked like some love-struck high school girl. This is so embarrassing...
"Wha-you can't-I... dammit, get back here, Meru!" Shinku roared, but by then, Malzeno and I turned a corner and disappeared from view where his laughter got the better of him, drowning out my flustered state to join him.
"I-I never realized he did that to his name! I thought he was being serious calling himself 'Sink' like those joke names people give themselves!" I wheezed, clutching my stomach while Malzeno nearly doubled over, punching the side of a building.
"I can't breathe, oh God I can't believe no one told him he screwed it up! Hahahahaa!" He continued to tear up, leaning against the wall with me, my hand over my eyes to try and control myself.
Recovering from out laughing fit with only mild stomach pains, Malzeno had us stop in another open plaza, swiping through his menu while I was told to cover my eyes, his gaze piercing when I tried to sneak a peek.
"Can I guess?" I tried to reason.
"Not a chance, besides, what's the point of it being a surprise if you did-ah, got it," I heard something materialize and land on the ground with a clank. "Okay, open 'em,"
Pulling my hands away, his hands were empty, and instead, his eyes flicked towards his foot prompted against a black board. Wait... is that... "No way, yo-you found one!?" I felt like I was about to explode with excitement seeing the black longboard rocking back and forth under his foot.
"Correction, I had someone commission one, crazy the various items you can make with the right skills and enough time on your hands," Malzeno shrugged like this wasn't such a big deal. He got a longboard in ALO! "When you suggested it the first time you saw mine, I and Argo dug around and found a carpenter who would give it a shot. Lo and behold, ALO's first official longboard,"
"Awesome! It sure doesn't compare to flying but I've been dying to try one of these!" In saying this, I blinked as Malzeno stepped on, his back to me.
"Well then, your chariot awaits," Holding out his hand, I eagerly accepted with a big smile, carefully stepping onto the board as he kept one foot on the ground to hold us steady. "Hold onto my shoulders tightly, I'll keep us balanced,"
"O-okay," Now that I was on it, I felt a little nervous, trying not to sway as he kicked off the ground, suddenly throwing us in motion as I swayed back and immediately gripped his shoulders in an vice-like hold.
"And, uh, try not to drag me with you if you fall on your ass," Malzeno added, making me flinch back before flicking him on the back of the head. "Ow, worth it,"
"Don't tempt me..." Smirking at his back, I held on as we approached a slope, causing my face to fall with a nervous sweat. "Uh, i-isn't this a little-"
"Nope, too late," He chimed chipperly as my fingers dug into his shoulders, my ponytail whipped backward as the wind brushed against my face suddenly at the increase of momentum. It took a lot of self-control not to spread my wings out of instinct.
Malzeno didn't seem hesitant at this speed as he shifted his weight, shooting around a right turn as our speed only continued to accumulate. Whipping around another bend, we frightened a few players who were caught off guard by our blurred forms.
"Whoops, sorry! On your left! Ahahaha!" Malzeno was enjoying himself, leaning forward as I tucked my head down, tensing up when we weaved between people and obstacles down every street. "I have the right of way, move it~!"
"Aah!" I squeezed my eyes shut when he banked right and straight over a dip in the road, sending us skyward for a few seconds with a hard landing that I was certain would've sent us barrelling through a building, but Malzeno barely flinched, adjusting the wobbly longboard, my eyes still screwed shut.
The wind settled around me as I felt Malzeno tap my hip. Blinking, we had cleared the bustling streets for the open road that ran along one of Alne's upper levels. Craning my head right, I was gifted with a magnificent view of the sunset, the very same I saw when we visited my old house...
The breeze combined with the faint warmth of the sunlight was perfect. I saw people flying through the air high above the city, basking in oranges, reds, and golds. It took my breath away, I've flown through the skies a lot here, but this felt brand new, I was moving as fast with my wings, but it was warmer.
My arms snaked down to Malzeno's waist, leaning the side of my head against his nape to watch the view with tender eyes. "It's amazing..."
"It's not entirely like the real world, but..." He began, but I squeezed a little more.
"Mm, no, it's perfect..." He was perfect in every way. "Let's keep going,"
"Sure thing," He kicked off the ground to maintain our speed as I snuggled in a little more, closing my eyes to fully immerse myself in the moment.
By now the sun had set, we had made it to our final destination for the night, a ridge that stuck out from the World Tree, no a soul around but us. The garden was lined with white marble columns with archways say for the front of the garden that looked to both the world and the starry sky above, the shadow of Aincrad looming in the distance.
Fireflies drifted through the night air while we stood to admire the view together. The ride here was... beautiful, it wasn't like anything I've experienced in my life. "Thanks for today, Mal, I really loved every bit of it, even scaring all those people when we flew right by them,"
"Hahaa... glad I could be of such wonderful service to the people and yourself all at once," He winked, arms crossed as his right hand tapped against his bicep. "I've, uh... never done this before, kinda just made it up as I went along, so to hear it all went well is a comforting thought,"
"Well good, because it was the best day ever, even trumping our victory over the floor boss!" And I didn't say that lightly either. It got a laugh from him as I stared at his smile a little longer.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out, only the sensation of blood rushing to my cheeks. I've listened to all the advice I was given, and... I really want to do this but... I'm scared. I know everyone is supporting me to live, even to make it a few months longer at the very least-even I wanted to!
But that truth still wedged itself in my head, and it made me anxious to say anything. "I've fought the odds more times than I can count, I can do this..."Looking towards the horizon again, I found my voice. "You know... when we found out we were duped into giving away the floor bosses' attack patterns, I honestly felt crushed, but then you came up with a plan so crazy just to help us,"
"Taking on a whole army didn't leave me a lot of cards to work with," He shrugged, being modest.
"Then whenever I tried to shut you away, you still found a way to reach me, you even said you'd find something for me to live for, that I thought was insane," I chuckled, finding the gesture sweet all the same.
"Okay... is-is this the moment you're gonna finally tell me I've lost my mind? Man, I don't even have a speech about how I'll rule the world with an iron fist prepared yet..." He scratched his head, and I jabbed his side with a light scoff.
"I'm getting there, dork," Clearing my throat, my voice grew tender, playing with my ponytail. "Then when you did everything in your power to go as far as you could in the tournament, even going toe-to-toe with Eugene and Kirito, I couldn't believe anyone with a bow could do that,"
"All of it was what made you... amazing, breath-taking, cool," I had a long list of words, but that about sums it up. "Nothing was ever impossible for you to try and overcome. Again and again you kept climbing with that stupid smirk on your face,"
"Um t-thanks, Yuuki," Now he looked bashful, hand across his nape. "Though I'm not as talented as you make me out to be. I've been surrounded by so many great people. A leader, a hero, and so many more while I just did what I could to catch up,"
"That's not true," Shaking my head, I turned to look at him, and I made sure he looked at me when I pinched his chin so he couldn't look away. "Maybe you never led a guild or defeated Heathcliff or are known as the greatest info broker alive, or even the best frontline player,"
"You're talented in your own way, to me, you're the strongest person I know, Kazuki," And I meant every word. "You've never stopped trying to support everyone you know, even as so many scorn you, you just did it your way. And I'm happy it was you I chose to join our party, trust,"
His eyes lit up at this, and I felt his jaw tremble from my words as he clearly was holding back a lot from the look in his eyes. "...oh, for the love of-why, I am not getting emotional over this," He rubbed his eyes with his arm while I stood and watched with a sly smirk on my face. Then going cross-eyed when he pointed at me without looking. "I know you're smirking, Cupcake, I can feel the smugness from here,"
"I don't know what you're talking about," I hummed as I met his gaze again. "So... what about me? Anything you want to get off your chest?"
Lowering his arm, I watched him pace a little. "Really putting me on the spot, this stuff's spontaneous, don't have my list either..." Clearing his throat, Malzeno paused to tilt my head toward him so I didn't look away. His face was tensed a bit, whatever he wanted to say was serious. "You, mm, I think... you're..."
"You are... the strongest person I've ever met. You always put on a front for others to hide how you truly feel; you were never alone but you were afraid to get closer to anyone else outside of the Sleeping Knights, even then, you still wished to keep them from getting hurt whenever you would pass away,"
"But after everything you've changed. Your smiles are brighter not just for living in the moment but towards your future. I've gotten to see so many sides to you in such a small space of time that's felt timeless. You may not have long to live, but that hasn't stopped you from fighting or enjoying every day you have, and that's honestly amazing, that I could meet someone as talented, strong, and caring as you, Yuuki,"
Aiko... said that to me once, well, something similar. I spent a long time grieving, wondering how any of that could be true; how-how could I be strong? Outside of Full-Dive I'm just a sick girl that can't even leave the room she's in. But having met everyone through Malzeno, I had some sense of a normal life again, I can hang out with friends even from far away, I get to go to school and chat about... anything.
I hadn't realized how close we've gotten until now, I could see it through his eyes down to his soul that he meant every word of it. Still, a flicker of doubt remained. "But... I'm not ordinary, outside of this game I'm all pale and sickly, without a camera I'm..." Unattractive? Yeah, that's a thought that's plagued my mind more times than not.
"First off, that's out of your control, and if you had seen what all us SAO survivors looked like after the game, you'd understand, so believe me I get where you're coming from," He chuckled, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Yuuki... you are beautiful, and I'm not just saying that to make you feel better, I mean it, you're a sweet, energetic, and lovely girl...I'm certainly not bothered by your appearance..."
Now I felt the heat returning to my face, not just at his nice words about my appearance, but for just being him, there wasn't any jokes or witty punchline, and I found myself actually hearing what he was saying. Now there was very little distance between us, and I felt my anxieties disappear for only a moment, so I drove my body forward when I had this opening.
Leaning up on my toes so our eyes met evenly I leaned in cross what felt like so many miles for days on end to lightly peck his lips. It was warm, spreading down from my lips to my heart threatening to burst from my ribcage. The contact wasn't long, I just wanted to see how he'd react without startling him. But it felt like a weight had fallen off my shoulders regardless.
Standing back, I tried to keep my eyes on his, the colour in his face as red as mine.
He tried to speak but nothing came out, and he turned to the side to hide his expression as I ducked my head down. "I just did that, I just did that, I actually, really-really-really just kissed him!?" I don't know if I should feel excited and over the moon or terrified and want the world to swallow me whole. Even my hand hesitated in bringing up my menu to logoff before-
No, I... had to see how this ends, I can't run away from this, especially not after being the one to make the first move.
I heard a breath escape Malzeno and looked nervously at him, seeing he had covered his eyes with his hand, wearing a stupid smile on his reddened face. "You've got to be kidding me..." Hearing that, I guess I... "Sorry, I just had a revelation that..." Looking to his eyes now staring at mine, he rolled them. "Turns out I-I was worried about nothing, funny h-how that only occurs a-after the hurdle is crossed..."
"I, you... y-you too...?" My chest tightened, I had a feeling, not to mention what the girls keep telling me, but unless I saw it for myself, I never wanted to get my hopes up.
He never said it, nodding once as I felt his hand graze my hot cheek, it felt really nice that I leaned into it. "If anyone asks, it wasn't obvious to us," I had to supress a snicker, nodding along with his wink.
Everything was so quiet now, just the darkness of the garden lit by tiny specks of neon green fireflies. Nothing really came into focus except for him as I curled one hand around his coat's zip-line. I jumped a little when his right arm held my waist, making him freeze for a moment while our faces were dangerously close together.
I could feel his breath on mine as our eyelids began to fall, after that, all I could feel were the sensations of his lips on mine, only longer than before and with force pressed back to mine. My hands tensed against his jacket and shoulder while I felt his own tighten as heat flowed through every inch of my body, it was more like a burning flame than fireworks, which only made it ten times better.
Time passed that I barely felt fly by at all, leaning away when he stole my lips again, exciting a small gasp from me, causing my whole face to feel extremely hot, my lips curling into a smile from the surprise, holding him as close as possible.
Finally pulling away with a hot breath between us, both my arms were wrapped around his neck while I stared deep into his emerald eyes. "...s-so... out of ten?" He asked breathlessly, and I softer laugh escaped me, hugging his neck tighter.
"Nailed it perfectly," I had no complaints, feeling this way, expressing it was like a breath of fresh air I never knew I needed. Lowering my head to rest against his shoulder, I felt like the luckiest person in Alfheim right now. "...I'm so glad it was you I chose, Kazuki,"
His arms both wrapped around my back, keeping me flush against him, I had no idea what kind of face he was making right now, but I from how he was treating me I could make some good guesses. "...you and me both, Yuuki,"
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
And so concludes the United Duelling Tournament, and what a finishing act! The two of them finally made it official, woot-woot! Break out the champagne while we're at it. Jokes aside, I really hope I did this moment justice for all the build up, some fun banter, fluffy moments, and then the kiss.
Another arc over, and onto the next, what I call the Inner Peace arc, oh what fun we're going to have with that one, haha! I sincerely hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next arc!
Fun Fact - Sink and Crimson in Japanese show up the same phrase of 'Shinku' on the 'totally reliable' Google Translate, and I found that freakin' hilarious thus the joke Malzeno prods Shinku for as he clearly uses the wrong phrasing thinking it was Crimson.