Chapter 134: A Warm Introduction Meeting
When Hachiman and the others arrived at the hospital, they were greeted by Tsurumi-sensei, the rehabilitation instructor. "Hikigaya-kun, over here please. Put the patient in this wheelchair." "Okay."
Hachiman carefully lifted Asuna up again and gently placed her in the wheelchair. "Asuna, this is Tsurumi-sensei, who will be in charge of your rehab." "I'm Yuuki Asuna. Nice to meet you, Sensei." "Nice to meet you too. I'm Tsurumi. Asuna-san, let's work hard together starting tomorrow." "Okay." "Then, Hikigaya-kun, let's go to the hospital room now."
The group headed toward the hospital room where Hachiman had been staying a few days ago. When they reached the door, Tsurumi seemed to have work to do and said, "See you tomorrow," then left.
Just as Hachiman was about to open the door, he suddenly remembered the screenshots posted on the wall.
He stopped and quickly whispered to Haruno about them. "Haruno-san, what about those screenshots?" "Hmm? They've already been replaced with new ones. Look, they're from just before the big mission started." "Ah—those ones." "Yeah, so don't worry." "Well, I'm not exactly worried..." "Because suddenly seeing those could be embarrassing, right?" "..." "You're welcome~"
Actually, before the big mission started, Hachiman had secretly taken several screenshots of his comrades—of course, to show Asuna.
Upon entering the hospital room, those photos had been carefully arranged on a photo wall as decoration. "Hachiman, what's all this...?" "Yeah, these are photos of the comrades who gathered to rescue Asuna."
Seeing the large number of people, even Asuna showed a surprised expression. "Wow, that's amazing." "By the way, this is Kirito." "Ah, he really does look like Kirito-kun." "This one is Leafa. Surprised? She's Kirito's little sister."
"Ah, now that you say it, I think I heard he has a sister." "Then these are Klein, Agil, and Silica."
Asuna's excitement suddenly peaked. "Si-Silca's cat ears!" "Your attention is really focused there." "That's because they're cat ears! Cute Silica wearing cat ears, right?" "Alright, alright, I'll keep introducing. Next are people Asuna-san doesn't know."
Hachiman calmed the excited Asuna and continued explaining. "You should know this one." "Yeah! My adorable little sister Komachi! Also with cat ears!" "This is Haruno-san's little sister Yukino, a member of the high school club." "She's in the Service Club, right?" "Here's Yui, also a member of the high school club." "Oh, those two you often talk about? I really want to meet them soon."
Because she'd heard a lot about those two, Asuna spoke with anticipation on her face. "You'll meet them soon. And this is Iroha, the former student council president and my junior." "It's hard to imagine Hachiman having anything to do with the student council." "This is senior Mobius, also a former student council president and the lord of the Undines." "So you know two consecutive student council presidents?" "Yeah, I helped the student council a lot during club activities. These people are basically internal members."
At this point, Haruno suddenly asked Asuna: "Hey Asuna-chan, have you noticed anything yet?" "Hm? Haruno-san, is there something wrong with my explanation?" "Look, I think Asuna-chan should know the whole truth." "What truth?"
Asuna stared at the screenshots, lost in thought. Suddenly, as if she'd realized something, she clapped her hands and answered Haruno: "Haruno-san, all of Hachiman's friends outside of SAO are female!" "That's right~!" "Hey, you're suddenly saying things that could be easily misunderstood..." "So what do you think?" "Well, it's obvious my Hachiman is really popular with women!" "Right? Including me, everyone really likes Hachiman!" "Yeah! I'm super happy, Haruno-san!"
Hearing Asuna say this, Hachiman suddenly froze. "Hachiman, why did you suddenly freeze?"
"No, it's just that Asuna's thoughts made my brain short-circuit." "I thought Asuna-chan might get jealous."
Haruno suddenly said this, making Asuna look confused: "Jealous? I'm not really, I'm more prepared. Having a boyfriend who's popular is something to be proud of!" "Asuna-chan really is amazing. If she were an ordinary person, she'd probably be jealous." "Well, we've been together for two years now. Hachiman is awkward with women, but that subtle kindness is understood, so it's natural many women like him." "Hachiman kept his promise in SAO, and they even agreed to be together forever. So there's nothing to worry about, even if there was, I'm sure it's my misunderstanding, so it's totally fine, Haruno-san." "Asuna-chan is really strong and amazing, I envy her." "Th-thank you."
(It's worth mentioning that during the upcoming Death Gun incident, due to the increase of women around Hachiman, Asuna skillfully managed them with a "carrot and stick" policy)
"But these kinds of girls tend to become convenient women. So sometimes, you have to get jealous and act spoiled. That's the secret to maintaining a relationship, Asuna-chan." "Ah, really? Then I'll try... What's going on, Hachiman! Hmph!" "..." "Then I'll... (turns away)." "Super cute, hey!" "Alright, alright, stop showing off in front of me!"
Seeing the situation getting out of hand, Haruno quickly called a halt. Then Hachiman decided to clarify things for Asuna. "Asuna, in ALO, my friends are all from the Service Club, so it's not like I'm only surrounded by females. Didn't you meet Hayama and Tobe before?" "Ah... sorry, that's true." "By the way, you've met Hayato, right?" "Yeah!"
Then Hachiman showed Asuna photos on his phone. "And this one, Zaimokuza, who supports us from outside with Argo." "Wow, he's huge." "This is Totsuka." "Huh? Isn't this a girl?" "No, Totsuka is definitely a guy." "Eh?! Such a pretty bishounen?!"
Asuna said this, looking at Haruno with a suspicious gaze. "Ah, um, Totsuka-kun really is a guy, Asuna-chan." "I see."
Hachiman saw Asuna's confused expression and protested: "Hey Asuna, didn't you say you trust me?" "I never said that~ I just said I'd keep the promise." "Ah, that's right." "Hachiman, it's getting late. Let's quickly finish introducing the rest." "Yeah, Asuna, sorry to digress. Let's continue." "Okay."
"This is Recon, Leafa's classmate. He looks weak but is actually very manly. I really like him." "I see." "This is Eugene, called the strongest man in ALO before Kirito appeared. The younger brother of the Salamander Lord. This is Sakuya, the Sylph Lord, and Alice , the Cat Sith Lord." "You know so many big names in such a short time. Amazing."
After finishing the screenshot explanation, Hachiman looked at Haruno last: "The last person isn't in the screenshots, but she's actually the strongest ALO player—Haruno-san, former Undine Lord Soleil." "Hi~ I'm Soleil!" "Haruno-san is the strongest? So amazing!" "But she's semi-retired. By the way, Asuna-chan, do you still have the courage to wear the NerveGear?" "Yeah, no problem. Though there are painful memories, after all, it's the device that brought me and Hachiman together. I'm not afraid, so I definitely won't return it to my brother—I want to use it myself." "OK OK, so during the day you do rehab, and at night we'll prepare the ALO software for you to play." "Thanks, Haruno-san!"
That day ended like this.
After Hachiman and Haruno left, Asuna stayed alone, looking at the screenshots and imagining herself freely flying in ALO, so excited she couldn't sleep. Actually, the lingering scent of Hachiman on the bed was also a reason, but for Asuna's dignity, that won't be said.
Then Asuna noticed a switch and a note by her pillow, which said: "A present for Asuna-chan." "This... must be from Haruno-san... I'll press it first."
After pressing the button, the photos on the wall flipped over, revealing below them a wedding photo of Hachiman and Asuna. "Ah... they still have this screenshot data... What should I do, I'm so happy..."
Looking at the screenshots she thought she'd never see again, wrapped in happiness, Asuna slowly drifted off to sleep.