Chapter 135: The Double Date Adventure
"Hey~ Kirito, over here!" "Hachiman!"
That day, Hachiman and Kirito had arranged to meet up in the game. Asuna and Liz would be logging into ALO shortly, and the two of them were there to welcome them.
"Alright, let's go." "Yeah."
The two spread their wings and flew toward the coordinates where they had previously appeared.
"How's Liz doing?" "Well, like us back then, she has to retrain her muscles, but luckily no weird side effects. She's in good spirits." "I see… Asuna, though, seems heavily influenced by Haruno-neesan." "Haruno-neesan? You mean Miss Haruno?" "Yeah, I heard Asuna decided to call her that. Apparently, she's won Haruno over quite a bit." "Hachiman, whatever you do, don't make Asuna angry. If you do, Miss Haruno will definitely become your enemy." "I'll keep that in mind."
As they chatted, they continued flying.
"This should be the place, right?" "Yeah, I recognize it. It's around here."
Recalling the positions where Asuna and Lizbeth had been when they cleared SAO, they decided to split up.
"I'll check above." "I'll take below. Hachiman, don't let Asuna fall." "Yeah, I'll do my best to find her. "Although, Asuna might just fly up on her own like we did." "She did ask Haruno for advice, so it's highly possible." "It's almost time. Good luck." "Right. Once we meet up, let's regroup at that tree over there."
Hachiman pointed to a tree a bit farther away.
"OK, see you in a bit." "Yeah."
After parting ways, Hachiman flew upward. Keeping his eyes on the real-world time shown in the interface, he anxiously waited for Asuna to appear.
As the moment approached, he scanned the surroundings.
"Hmm… that might be her."
Spotting a figure in the distance, he immediately flew toward it. The person wasn't flying very steadily but seemed to manage on their own.
"Looks fine for now… Oh, it seems Asuna spotted me too."
Just as he relaxed seeing her glance his way, Asuna suddenly screamed—
"Ahhhh I'm falling~~~~!" "Hey! That's way too fake! Wait, are you seriously falling?! Damn it! Real or not, this is dangerous!"
Asuna suddenly plummeted. Hachiman sped up and caught her securely—in a classic princess carry, of course.
"Thanks, Hachiman-kun. I'm still a bit shaken and can't move well. If it's okay, can you carry me to Liz?" "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I should recover quickly." "Alright, let's go straight to the rendezvous point." "Mm-hmm."
When they arrived at the tree, Kirito and Lizbeth were already waiting. Seeing Liz, Asuna perked up instantly and leapt out of Hachiman's arms to embrace her.
"Liz!" "Asuna!"
Watching the two embrace, Hachiman and Kirito exchanged knowing smiles.
Suddenly, Asuna whispered something in Liz's ear, and Liz immediately asked Kirito to teach her how to fly.
"I can kind of float, but look—"
Before Kirito could finish, Liz shot up into the sky at an incredible speed—clearly not normal floating.
"Whoa!"
Kirito hurriedly chased after her. From above, Liz's voice rang out:
"Ahhhh I'm falling~~~~!"
Hachiman snapped his gaze to Asuna, who looked away feigning innocence.
"Hey, Asuna..." "W-what is it, Hachiman-kun?"
"This feels way too familiar… That whole stunt—Haruno-neesan taught you this, didn't she!? What kind of weird stuff has she filled your head with!?" "W-what are you talking about? Got any proof?"
Just then, Kirito descended, carrying Liz in his arms.
"Phew, that scared me. Be more careful, Liz." "Okay~!"
Liz cheerfully jumped down and ran to Asuna.
"Thanks, Asuna! It worked just like you said!" "L-Liz! You weren't supposed to say that!"
Panicking, Asuna tried to cover Liz's mouth—but too late.
"Asuna." "W-what is it, Hachiman-kun?"
Hachiman curled a finger, signaling her to come over. Asuna shook her head and hid behind Liz. Kirito, clueless, asked:
"What's going on, Hachiman?" "Come here, Kirito." "Uh, sure..."
After whispering an explanation, Kirito sharply turned to glare at Liz.
Liz awkwardly looked away.
"Liz." "W-what is it, Kirito?"
"No choice, then. Kirito, let's go on the offensive." "Yeah."
Kirito also curled his finger, causing Liz to panic and hide behind Asuna.
The two boys slowly advanced.
"C-calm down. Let's talk this out." "Yeah, let's have a nice, deep conversation."
"Liz, no more hiding. Come out and explain."
Watching them approach, Liz asked nervously:
"Asuna, what now?" "Liz—run!"
Asuna grabbed Liz, and the two shot into the sky.
"I knew you could fly!!" "Get back here!"
Hachiman and Kirito gave chase at full speed. Just as they were about to catch up, Asuna and Liz showed off dazzling aerial maneuvers, easily dodging them.
"What!?" "How do they suddenly know how to fly like that!?" "Haruno-neesan's flying tricks." "Miss Haruno taught us."
They replied in perfect sync before flying off again.
"To think they got that good just from some tips… Haruno-neesan really is a monster." "Hachiman! What if Miss Haruno is listening nearby!? Don't say scary things like that!" "Seriously!?"
Hachiman frantically looked around before sighing in relief.
"Almost forgot—we need to keep chasing." "Right. Let's go, Kirito!"
The chase went on for a while, but it ended up improving everyone's flight skills.
"F-finally caught you!" "You guys got way too good, too fast!" "Sigh~ we got caught, huh Liz." "Yeah, busted, Asuna."
"But just like Haruno-neesan said—" "Yup, Miss Haruno's advice was spot on."
Hearing that, Hachiman and Kirito immediately went on alert.
"Wait… there's more!?" "Hachiman-kun, look at our current positions."
Finally noticing, Hachiman and Kirito realized they were both holding the girls tightly to keep them from escaping. Both blushed furiously and let go.
"Whoa!" "S-sorry, Liz!" "You finally realized it, Hachiman-kun, Kirito-kun." "You two were dancing in the palm of Haruno-neesan's hand all along. Understand now?" "Damn it... That woman is terrifying." "Hachiman! Never make her your enemy!"
"Who's terrifying?"
"Uwaaaaaahhhhh!" "Sorry sorry sorry!!"
Haruno's voice suddenly echoed from above. The two boys dropped to the ground in deep bows.
Soleil (Haruno's in-game name) hovered above them.
"Haruno-neesan! It went exactly as you said!" "Thank you so much, Miss Haruno!" "That's great. But in here, call me Soleil, okay?" "Yes! Soleil-neesan!" "Understood, Miss Soleil!"
Looking confused at the kneeling boys, Haruno asked:
"So… why are they bowing?" "If you're angry, please forgive them!" "I didn't say anything! It was all Hachiman!" "Ah! Kirito, you traitor!" "It's the truth!"
Ignoring their bickering, Soleil turned to the girls:
"Alright, let's head to Alne first."
Then, to the boys:
"You two, hurry up." "Ah, y-yes!" "R-right away!"
Just as they were about to take off, Soleil gave them one last radiant smile:
"Tomorrow, the two of you are coming out with me. You don't get to refuse. I'll come to your houses, so be good and wait."
"Y-yes..." "U-understood..."
And so, the five of them flew toward Alne together.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on patr eon/ VarieTL