January 1st, 2022: 11:30PM Japan Standard time
Floor 1: Horunka Mountains
Asuna felt her head pounding when she finally woke from her forced slumber. She instinctively brought her hands up to rub the sleep from her eyes. When she did, Asuna noticed that her back was supported by something firm behind her. A glance over her shoulder told her she was propped up against a tree, having been resting peacefully until she had woken up.
It took her a moment to gather her thoughts, the memories of her prior encounter dripped slowly back into view. She recalled the young man that had saved her from the massive creature and his attempt to speak with her before she had passed out. She remembered the mass of nepenthes she had accidently caused to swarm her and Mito. At the thought of Mito she snapped her head upwards and began to look around her for a sign of her friend.
A small distance away from her, Asuna saw the purple haired woman in a similar position that she was. She was propped up against a tree sound asleep, her breathing slow but steady. Asuna let out a sigh of relief at the confirmation that her friend was still alive. Her gaze continued to scan around her with caution. It set on the familiar form of her savior standing a few feet in front of her. His arms were crossed and he seemed to be on guard duty.
"Thank you, for helping us." Asuna spoke reluctantly in a soft voice. Even with her care, she had seemed to startle the boy.
Her savior jumped at the sound and snapped his head towards her. He didn't respond immediately, his eyes flicking up and down her body like he was analyzing her. There was a look in his eye that Asuna knew was one of distrust. Her eyes squinted at him, trying to assess why he might be on edge around them if he was the one who saved them.
"Don't worry about it, I needed to kill the dire wolf for my quest." The young man looked away from her after he finished speaking. He appeared to be trying to play the situation off, but Asuna could see the hint of awkwardness peeking through the front he tried to put up.
She felt the edge of her lips tug upwards in amusement. She would normally be equally as shy, but this person had saved her life. "I'm Asuna, what's your name?"
"Kirito." His reply was curt, not looking back at her when he answered. Kirito continued to scan the open road as if something might jump out at any second.
Asuna shifted her attention back towards Mito's unconscious body. The worry for her friend threatened to bubble back up, but she knew the purple haired woman was safe at least for the time being. With a bit of a struggle, Asuna began the task of picking herself up from the ground.
"Hey, don't push yourself. You may have slept for a few hours, but you're still injured." Almost immediately, Kirito had spun around and taken multiple steps towards her.
If it wasn't for the fact she had seen the more awkward side of him multiple times already, the way he immediately began to hover in concern would be almost endearing. Asuna raised a brow at him, but didn't fight his words. She sank back against the tree and continued to wait for Kirito to say more. He seemed to know his way around the game, so the least she could do was listen to his advice.
Kirito stared at her with a blank look. He replied, finally reading the look on her face. "Um, I can help you get back to town once your friend wakes up. Once I hand in the quest I just finished, I'll have a room you can borrow so you both can get back on your feet."
He followed his words by opening his inventory and a trade offer appeared in front of her eyes. Asuna was greeted with his menu scrolled to the sight of potions. He was offering her a total of ten of them. Her eyes went wide at the menu, Asuna knew they weren't cheap
"I can't accept these, that's way too many." She was about to tap the decline button when she was interrupted by a reply.
"I have plenty more and you clearly need them. Think of it as my apology. There's a good chance the wolf was only out this far because I drove it out of its lair." Kirito seemed to be determined to give her the healing items.
Asuna narrowed her eyes at his statement. A brief flash of anger directed at Kirito coursed through her mind. If what he said was true, then Mito and her had almost died because of him. She quickly pushed that train of thought away. There was no way he could have known it would cross paths with them.
Kirito had a guilty look plastered on his face which made it clear to Asuna even if she didn't think it was his fault, he was going to take it upon himself. She sighed, deciding to accept the trade offer. Asuna figured that if he was going to blame himself, taking the white flag would help ease the guilt at least a little bit.
Asuna flicked through her menu to grab one of her newly acquired potions. Popping the top, she tipped the bottle back along with her head and downed the liquid in a single go. The drink had an almost immediate effect on the pain she was feeling. Her health had regenerated a little bit while she had been unconscious, but it was still in the red. After she had finished her potion it began a steady climb out into the yellow, and then finally back into the green. Along with her health rising, the burning in her limbs and the pounding in her head began to subside.
Kirito seemed to relax once she downed the potion. He closed the last few feet between them and reached down to offer Asuna a hand to help her up. She hesitated for a second but ultimately shook off the nerves and accepted the hand. Kirito pulled her up to her feet with ease and took a step back to give her space.
Asuna stared at him for a moment with a curious look in her eyes. She put a hand on her hip and tilted her head. "I just realized, are you all by yourself out here?"
Her question made Kirito visibly freeze up. It took him a very noticeable pause to think his answer over. "Yeah, it's just me."
Asuna guessed there was more to it, but left it at face value for the time being. Now that she was able to walk on her feet again she turned her attention towards Mito. She walked over to her friend and took another potion out of her inventory while crouching down. Asuna gently tilted her friend's head back and drained the liquid into her mouth. Asuna made sure Mito was able to swallow the potion then pushed herself back up.
Mito's health bar began the same process hers had after which her eyes started to slowly blink. Much like Asuna, Mito's awakening was heralded by an attempt to gather her bearings. When her teal eyes peered up to Asuna, the glass in her hand had shattered. A soft look formed on Mito's face, understanding what had brought her out of her slumber.
"You beat that thing?" Mito didn't sound as though she was trying to belittle her friend, but she was clearly shocked at the outcome.
Asuna shook her head and motioned over to Kirito a few feet away from her. "No Mito, It was him. He managed to get there at the last second. Any longer and I wouldn't be here."
At this point he was standing around awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. His eyes were raised to the sky like he was trying to avoid conversation at any cost. Asuna felt a brief stint of fear when she finished her reply. She might be safe now, but she really had gone knocking on death's door.
"Well, thank you…" Mito had turned to Kirito but trailed off when she realized she didn't know the young man's name.
"Kirito." Kirito gave the same short reply he had given to Asuna, still looking into the air.
"There isn't anything in the sky Kirito, why are you staring there?" Asuna teased him with a smirk on her face.
She saw Kirito's cheeks flush red with embarrassment. It was going to be fun for her to mess with someone as awkward as him. Asuna however missed the shocked expression that sprawled across Mito's features. The purple haired woman raised a finger to point at Kirito with disbelief.
"Mito. You…you're the Black Swordsman?" Mito introduced herself, sounding like she didn't believe that the young man in front of her was who he was. Asuna let her gaze shift between her purple haired friend and Kirito, curiosity getting the better of her in the moment.
Kirito had brought a hand behind him, rubbing his neck absent mindedly. "Um yeah, that's what they called me. I'm assuming you were in the beta test then?" He sounded flustered more than anything, his lips twitching into a sheepish look at the title.
Mito didn't respond at first. She appeared deep in thought at the confirmation of Kirito's moniker. She simply stared at him with a questioning gaze. Asuna cleared her throat, the awkward silence hanging in the air much too long for her liking.
"So you were a beta tester Kirito? I guess that explains part of how you were so strong back there." Asuna spoke in reference to his display of power against the wolf.
Asuna may have been partially exhausted when it showed up, but he still dispatched the wolf like it was just another nepenthes. She would be lying if she said she wasn't impressed. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mito finally speaking up before Kirito could reply. "He made it farther than any of us. Even more, he was solo, weren't you?"
Asuna turned to Kirito with a mixture of confusion and admiration. He didn't respond verbally, instead tilting his head at Mito's words. Asuna had begun to hatch a plan in her mind. Kirito may be awkward, but he clearly had a hidden soft side to him. As much as Asuna appreciated Mito helping her, it was becoming clear to her if they wanted to survive in this world they would need more allies.
"Kirito, you said you had somewhere we could recoup?" Asuna interjected to steer the conversation. If she was going to convince him to party up with them, it would be best to do it out of harm's way.
Kirito snapped out of the awkward lull between himself and Mito and shifted his attention to Asuna. "I will yeah once I've turned in this quest. The offer still stands. It's one of the nicest places you'll get on the first floor, and probably one of the only with a proper bath."
At the mention of a bath Asuna's expression lit up with glee. Without thinking she shot forward and grabbed one of Kirito's hands with both of her own. "You should have led with that!"
Kirito quickly shaded like a tomato. Behind the pair, Mito giggled at the brunette's response. Stumbling over himself, Kirito had to fight to find the words. "Yeah...I guess so. I guess that means you want to get going?"
"Let's go!" Asuna hadn't thought she'd find excitement in much of anything after the introduction of the death game, but the thought of a warm bath made her giddy beyond words. She bobbed her head quickly, beginning to pull Kirito eagerly along with the hand she had stolen. She made it a few feet before Mito called out behind her.
"Asuna, Horunka Town is in the opposite direction." Her words were laced with amusement.
Asuna's face was painted a similar shade to Kirito's. She dropped his hand in embarrassment, turning around and clearing her throat. "Right, I knew that."
Kirito managed to break out of his own embarrassment, laughing at the antics of the duo. He strode past the two of them and beckoned with his hand for them to follow. "Let's go, we can get there before it gets even more late."
The newly formed trio walked in relative silence towards the town. Kirito was a good distance ahead of the two women, giving them a chance to talk amongst themselves for the time being. "What are you planning, Asuna?" Mito's inquisitive tone was a whisper, the purple haired woman having leaned in to ask her friend the silent question.
Asuna hesitantly tried to laugh it off. She kept her face forward. "What do you mean?"
Mito's face grew into a sly smirk, jabbing a finger into her friend's side as they continued to walk. "Well, for almost the entire day you've been adverse to us meeting new people. Now you're following a stranger to his home. Did the princess fall for the daring hero?"
Asuna's face lit up red once again, her voice rising louder than she wanted it to. "It's not like that!"
Kirito turned his head around at the sudden volume. He gave them a strange look, looking as though he was trying to check if everything was okay, but when Mito waved him off he shrugged his shoulders and returned his eyes forward.
"After that wolf attacked us, I realized we need to make friends…I need to make friends. He seems like a nice guy, even if he is a little bit weird." Asuna's voice returned to a quiet level, her eyes locking with the ground.
Mito gave the brunette a playful shove with her arm. "Hey it's okay to like him. But seriously, I'm glad you're willing to try and come out of your shell. I agree by the way, it would be smart to start making allies. Kirito would be a strong one to have as well, even just for pure knowledge."
Asuna grumbled at her friends teasing, but managed to stop herself from entertaining it any further. "I was going to ask him to party up with us once we had a little bit to collect ourselves. Is that okay with you?"
Her purple haired partner giggled once again, but stopped teasing her in favor of a more serious reply. "Of course, I just want you and I to be safe. As long as you're comfortable with another person around, it's fine with me."
Asuna felt a soft smile creep onto her face. She appreciated her friend a lot, especially in situations like these. She tilted her head and continued towards the town with a noticeably more confident pep in her step.
The trio arrived at Horunka Town without any further disruptions. Kirito guided them through the streets towards the farm where he needed to go. Just like when he had accepted the quest, he walked up to the farm house door and gently knocked on the wood. A moment later the door opened to reveal the farmer NPC who had given him his task.
"You've returned! And you brought friends?" The farmer didn't seem bothered about the observation. Instead he stepped to the side to allow the three players to enter the house. Once they were all inside he closed the door.
"I have. I'd like to inform you that your predator problem is taken care of." Kirito spoke plainly. Asuna observed him silently, it seemed he wanted to get the quest finished quickly so he could go upstairs and rest. She agreed with him, it was late and they all had a long day.
With a smile the NPC retrieved a key from his pocket and offered it to Kirito. "Wonderful, like I promised you can use the upstairs loft for as long as you want to. If you're awake in the mornings you are welcome to join my wife and I for breakfast."
Kirito gave the farmer a respectful dip of his head and accepted the key. "I appreciate it."
Asuna saw the quest pop up on his menu to tell him it was complete, awarding him the key, a small amount of experience, and cor. The main reward was clearly the loft itself. If it had a bath she had a hard time disagreeing.
"Let's head upstairs." Kirito called out behind him and began up the stairs. Asuna and Mito followed him eagerly to the loft. He opened the door with his newly acquired key and let out a sigh of relief. Asuna could relate to the release of emotions. It was freeing to be able to take a breath after the day she'd had. The room itself was spacious. It boasted a small kitchenette, a living room with an L shaped couch, a large king sized bed, and a door that sectioned off to where Asuna could only assume was the bathroom.
Confirming her suspicions Kirito pointed in the direction of the door while removing his weapon and armor, leaving him in only the starter clothing. "Whichever one of you wants to go first, the bath is in there. When you're done the two of you can share the bed for tonight." He sounded exhausted, walking over to the couch and flopping down into the cushions face first.
Asuna giggled at the scene and looked at Mito. "Can I go first?" She all but pleaded to her friend.
Mito padded over to the door and swung it open to look inside the bathroom. Once she got a good look inside she turned to Asuna with a mischievous grin. "It's big enough for the two of us. No need to be shy."
Asuna tried to make a sound of protest but Mito grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room. The purple haired woman shut the door behind them, shouting at Kirito before she did to tell him not to peek. Asuna swore she heard Kirito make a confused sound but once the door was closed, the sound was muted.
"This gives us a chance to talk a little bit more, just the two of us." Mito shot her a knowing look.
Asuna groaned in annoyance but ultimately agreed. She knew they had to plan not just their own journey forward, but also how they were going to approach asking Kirito to party up with them. She walked over to the spacious tub and started filling it with water after which she and Mito began to unequip their clothing.
Asuna wasn't particularly shy, it wasn't all that uncommon for people of the same gender to bathe together in Japan, but it still felt somewhat weird when with a close friend. The pair finished undressing and sank into the warm water of the tub. Asuna let out a relaxed moan after dipping into the warm bath. Mito followed right after, a similar sound escaping her lips.
"I'm sorry about earlier today Asuna. I didn't mean to leave you all by yourself." Mito had begun suddenly after they adjusted to the temperature of the water.
Asuna looked at her friend in shock, shaking her head. "Mito, there's no way you could have predicted that. I'm just glad we both made it out safe. You need to stop blaming yourself for so many things, especially when they're out of your control."
Mito cast her gaze downwards into the water and fell silent. She stayed that way for a couple moments until she found the words to answer the brunette. "I know you're right, I just feel like I have to protect you. I know you've said you don't see it this way, but I still feel partially at fault for you being here."
The purple haired woman trailed off and shook her head to break her train of thought. She tried her best to turn her frown into a friendly look. "It's a good thing your boyfriend was there to save us huh?"
Asuna felt her cheeks light up again. She shot a hand forward to splash Mito with water and retorted with an exasperated tone. "I told you it's not like that!"
The reply she got was a fit of laughter and a return splash. Asuna giggled, the water fight lasting for a few minutes. It was nice to let loose and have a bit of fun after the events thus far. After a fit of giggles and thoroughly soaked hair Asuna's expression returned to a more serious one.
"I do want to get closer to him though. Part of it I can't explain, but I do really think he's a good guy. Sure he's strong, but not anyone would go out of their way to save someone like that. He might act cold, but I think it's just a front." Asuna was quiet now, like if she spoke too loud Kirito might overhear them.
Mito looked like she was about to continue teasing her but appeared to restrain herself. "I agree. I only know what I do about him from second hand sources and seeing him in the beta. He was always a loner and had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, but what introverted nerd wouldn't? I know before we were friends I wasn't the best example of a social butterfly."
Asuna thought over her friend's words. It made sense, she herself wasn't the most active socialite, not in the normal manner at least. Sure her parents had raised her on how to navigate the politics of the higher class, but that made it especially difficult to get close to people.
"I think I'm just going to get right out with it and ask him to join up with us. He seems like someone who appreciates not beating around the bush." Asuna at this point was running through the plan for herself more than anything. Talking it through out loud had always helped her confidence.
"I think that's the best plan. Don't wait too long either. I'm guessing in the morning he's going to try and get us to go our separate ways." Mito seemed to be coaching her along. Not once had she offered to take the reins, opting to let Asuna take the lead for once since she seemed willing to.
That was just another thing she appreciated about Mito. She had pushed her in all sorts of ways, and not in a bad way. She was slowly learning how to come out of her shell day by day. Even stuck in the game she was going to try and keep shedding layers bit by bit. They continued their small talk as they cleaned themselves, enjoying the relaxation of the warm water.
Their conversation was interrupted by yelling outside the bathroom. "Argo no, don't go in there!"
The door swung open, both women in the bath snapping their heads over to the entry. A short blonde woman stood in the doorway. The feature that immediately stood out to Asuna was the whiskers that were present on the woman's cheeks. It was very obvious she had planned on using the bath.
Behind her Kirito stood with his hand outstretched in what was clearly an attempt to stop her. Asuna locked eyes with the black swordsman and a deafening silence fell over the four players. Her face lit up a bright cherry red and Kirito's hands slammed into his eyes to cover them.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I told Argo she couldn't use the bath but she wouldn't listen. I promise I wasn't looking! Please don't kill me!" Kirito had started to ramble and back away. With his sight removed he managed to trip on the floorboards and fall backwards with a loud crash.
Asuna's first reaction was to scream. She was about to give Kirito a piece of her mind when she saw him shrink out of view and slam into the floor. She couldn't help herself and broke out into a hearty laughter.
Argo seemed completely unbothered, staring at the two naked women in front of her. "Oops, my bad. I guess lil' ole me can come back later. Kii-bou yer an idiot." Argo shouted out the door, turning around and closing it behind her.
Asuna and Mito looked at each other in confusion. The deadpan look on their faces refusing to leave. Eventually, Asuna cleared her throat and shook off the embarrassment. "I guess we've been in here long enough."
The pair stood up from the bath, stepping out of the tub and drying themselves off. After beginning to drain the tub, Asuna clothed herself, this time without her armor, with Mito following in suit. Once the pair was decent Asuna pushed the door open slowly.
The pair that had barged in on them had made their way to the couch. Kirito was laying face first in the cushions like he had been when they entered the bathroom and the woman known as Argo sat across from him. Her legs were crossed and she sat like some sort of creature. Her lithe frame all but blending into her surroundings.
"Oi, Mi-kun and Aa-chan was it?" Argo stared at them. Her naming scheme quickly became a noticeable quirk of hers between the name she'd given Kirito and what she had just called them.
Asuna knit her brows together in confusion until she realized that must just be how Argo was. She let out a sigh, clearly the blonde knew their names since she had managed to come up with the nicknames in the first place.
"Yes, that's us." Asuna replied in defeat. She got the feeling there wasn't any way she'd be able to convince Argo to not call her that.
"Argo is an information broker, and one of my closest friends." Kirito mumbled into the couch cushion. He was clearly still embarrassed about the scene earlier.
"That's cause I'm yer only friend, Kii-bou." Argo shot back at him with a teasing remark.
The blonde woman shot up from her seated position and rocked on the balls of her feet. "Well, s'pose it's time for me to get outa 'ere. Make sure ya send my cor Kii-bou."
As quickly as she had barged into their group Argo was gone. Her eccentric personality was memorable, Asuna would give her that. She turned to Kirito who had finally brought himself up from his hiding place, but he still kept his gaze glued to the floor.
Asuna grinned softly at that detail. It only reinforced her observation about him, he wasn't a bad guy at heart. She gave Mito a questioning glance that asked "Is it a good time?" Mito's only reply was a curt dip of her head.
With a breath to steady herself Asuna stepped forward to lean over the couch, using the back of the cushions as support. "Kirito…I was thinking…Would you want to travel with us?" She had managed to get her question out, but there was an unexplainable feeling of nervousness that spread through her.
"I know you probably already have plans, you seem to know what you're doing…But you seem like a nice guy and after talking with Mito I think we'd get along." Asuna closed her eyes as she finished, keeping them tightly shut in anticipation of the rejection she knew was coming.
Kirito's attention had been grabbed. His embarrassment was stripped away in an instant and he stared at her in shock. He looked between her and Mito, who was giving him a supportive smile, with a dumbstruck expression on his face. He clearly had not been expecting that.
He was silent for some time and at one point Asuna cracked an eye open to get a look at his face. He was clearly in thought and it was also easy to see that there were some very conflicting emotions raging behind his eyes. Part of her wondered why, but she wasn't going to push her luck asking right now. After that felt like an eternity to her, Asuna finally got her reply.
"I…" Kirito struggled to get out the words. Asuna shut her eyes again, bracing for the denial. "I think I'd like that. I regret saying no to the last person that offered to party up with me."
His response knocked the wind from Asuna. It was honestly not what she expected to hear. With a sudden shyness she pushed off the back of the couch and nodded to herself more than anything.
"Alright. We can talk more about a plan in the morning. We should all get some rest." Asuna spared a glance for Mito who was giving her a supportive grin. She stopped herself from punching her friend, knowing she'd be hearing more teasing the next time they were alone.
"Yeah…sounds good." Kirito sounded more awkward than usual. Whatever was on his mind was clearly eating at him. He stood without another word to flip off the lights.
As he was doing so, Mito and Asuna had headed to the king bed and began to crawl under the covers. Asuna was about to hide herself under the blanket when a sudden wave of courage hit her. "Good night Kirito."
His reply wasn't immediate, but it did come. "Good night Asuna."
Asuna heard a soft snicker from Mito beside her and shoved her elbow into her friend as a warning before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.