"I get it. So, you and Big Sis are just a lovey-dovey couple, right?"
"I'd rather not agree to that phrasing."
"Such a perfect pair, and you're so harsh, Trashy-man!"
The last line came from Asuna. Komachi's eyes sparkled as she turned to her.
"Big Sis! You're already imitating me!"
"Komachi-chan, yeah!"
"Big Sis, yeah!"
High-fiving each other, they left Hachiman shrugging.
"I'm talking about the 'lovey-dovey' part. And stop casually wounding your brother."
"It's your fault for being sneaky, Bro! See, Trashy-man fits perfectly!"
"There's… a lot behind that."
"Come on, Komachi-chan, Hachiman probably has his reasons, right?"
Asuna soothed Komachi, shooting Hachiman pointed glances to explain.
"If Big Sis says so… spill it, Bro."
"Right…"
Hachiman decided to explain from the start. The two sat side by side on the bed, listening.
"It started with info from Rose that Laughing Coffin's former leaders were playing GGO. I decided to scout it out."
"Rose? Who's that?"
"Uh, Komachi doesn't know. Well…"
Hachiman hesitated, unsure whether to be blunt or soften the truth about Rose—Rosalia. Asuna jumped in.
"She tried to kill Silica-chan, did some really bad stuff, and got a harsh lesson from Kirito-kun and Hachiman-kun."
"A total villain! Why're you dealing with her, Bro?"
"Ugh…"
Hearing it laid bare, Rose sounded indefensible. Even Hachiman struggled to justify it. But Asuna continued.
"But now, Rose is under Haru-neesan, and she seems to have regained some humanity—barely. So don't worry, Komachi-chan."
Hachiman realized Komachi wasn't angry but worried for him. Seeing her relax at Asuna's words, he thought, Asuna's unbeatable. But she wasn't done.
"Also, Komachi-chan, Rose depends on Hachiman-kun and admires me, so she'd never betray us. No worries!"
"Really? That's reassuring—wait, depends? Admires? I get admiring cool Big Sis, but depending on Bro? In real life?"
"Depends… does she?"
Hachiman tilted his head, but Asuna didn't back down.
"You can tell by her eyes—always watching Hachiman-kun, relaxing when he talks to her. I thought it was love at first, but it's definitely dependence. Hachiman-kun's got a knack for mental domination!"
"Asuna, that sounds way worse than it is…"
Hachiman, slipping into polite speech, protested weakly. Asuna ignored him.
"If you doubt it, try pushing her a bit next time. But no flirty stuff—I won't forgive that! Watch her reaction, Hachiman-kun."
"Uh, if I get the chance…"
Asuna nodded, satisfied, and added, "Hachiman-kun's destined to be Haru-neesan's right hand, right? Rose will be your subordinate, so better train her not to betray you now!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am…"
As Asuna stood, chuckling darkly, Komachi rushed to Hachiman.
(What do we do, Bro? Big Sis is super shady!)
(Haru-neesan's influence? Asuna's always been intense about me. It's fine, probably. Let's move on.)
(Okay, Bro, please!)
They resumed as if nothing happened.
"Back to it, Bro. Continue."
"Yeah, Hachiman-kun, go on."
Hachiman continued.
"So, I tried GGO based on Rose's info, but I couldn't confirm if Laughing Coffin's there."
Both collapsed dramatically on the bed.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Unlike SAO or ALO, swinging a sword and shooting a gun are too different. Even I couldn't spot them by their moves."
"Ohhh."
"Got it."
"Conversations didn't help either. Everyone's role-playing, so no useful clues."
Hachiman fell silent. Indeed, if GGO used swords, he might've found hints, but guns were too different. Asuna and Komachi nodded quietly, waiting.
"So, I kept playing out of inertia. Got a good sniper rifle—M82A1—and switched to sniping."
"Like trapping them in threads?"
"Komachi-chan, that's a spider!"
Asuna quickly corrected Komachi's quip.
"Sniper, Komachi, sniper. Anyway, I hunted PvP teams from long range for fun."
"Yeah, you'd hate those types, Hachiman-kun."
"It's just how the game is, but yeah, I don't like them."
Hachiman nodded to Asuna.
"Then I heard about a tournament—Bullet of Bullets—and joined."
"Bullet of Bullets!"
"Wow, Asuna, you know GGO's tournament?"
"Yeah, we were watching Shana earlier."
Hachiman covered his face, groaning.
"Shana? Who's that, Big Sis?"
"Probably Hachiman-kun's GGO username, right?"
"Sigh… Correct. It's from Hachiman Daibosatsu to Minamoto, then Yoshitsune, and his childhood name, Shana-oh. Everyone know it's me?"
"Nope, just me. I didn't tell anyone."
Hachiman looked relieved.
"Not hiding it, but it's kinda embarrassing."
"You hate looking like you're scouting for the team, right?"
Asuna grinned, and Hachiman blushed, looking away.
"Still, you spotted me from a replay. Impressive."
"That move was familiar. Plus, I'm your wife! Love told me it was you!"
"Whoa!"
Komachi clapped wildly; Asuna stood smugly. Hachiman ignored it and continued.
"In GGO, I've never been forced into close combat, so that move was unknown. Wanted to keep it that way, but my opponent got me heated."
Asuna's face turned serious.
"So, not PoH?"
"Yeah, probably not. Hard to explain, but he felt… like a pro soldier, not PoH."
"Regret losing?"
"Yeah."
Komachi, familiar with PoH's name and nature, asked nervously, "Bro, you sure you're okay?"
Hachiman patted her head firmly.
"I'm fine. Unless they know my real address, there's no issue. And that's impossible unless I spill in-game."
"Okay!"
Komachi smiled, reassured. Asuna hugged her, calming her further. Then Asuna asked, "Got it, but those games?"
She pointed to the two GGO copies.
"Oh, those… I wasn't getting clues, so I thought about asking you, Asuna, since you're sociable and know Laughing Coffin better. Bought another copy, but…"
"But?"
"Felt like it might be bad for you to play a game like this…"
Asuna and Komachi burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, Hachiman's gone full dad!"
"Bro, you love Big Sis, but that's way too overprotective!"
"Is it?"
Hachiman scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Why not ask Kirito-kun?"
"Thought about it, but us sneaking around might look like cheating…"
"Haha, overthinking again!"
"If it's just us, then you, then Liz—it'd spiral. So I dropped it."
"Fair."
Asuna nodded, understanding the burden on Kirito and Lizbeth. But she didn't want Hachiman alone. She decided instantly.
"Alright, I'm playing GGO!"
Hachiman blinked.
"That'd help, but you sure?"
"A wife guards her husband's back!"
"That's usually the other way around…"
Hachiman retorted instantly.
"And a sister guards her brother and sister-in-law!"
"Komachi, that's backward too. Wait, you're playing GGO?"
"Obviously! Time to show the Hikitani family bond!"
"Exactly! We'll crush Satrizer together!"
"Ugh… don't remind me. I'm still sore about that."
Seeing their enthusiasm, Hachiman resolved himself.
"Fine, I'll grab another copy. You two read the manual."
"Yay!"
"Bro's paying, right?"
"Obviously."
Thus, Asuna and Komachi joined GGO. They searched diligently for Satrizer, but he never appeared—American connections were blocked by the admins, a fact Hachiman would learn later.
The prep for the GGO arc… should be done.
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