Page after page of the calendar flipped by. The awaited days felt slow yet fast, but never stopped moving forward.
Under the changing nights, at the Yuuki residence.
All transfer procedures were complete, the farewell party had been attended, and the transfer qualification exam was passed with a perfect score.
Now, Asuna was fully prepared—she only needed to wait until after the weekend to officially transfer to Sōbu High, to find the person she missed day and night and longed to see as soon as possible.
Of course, she didn't need to wait that long. She should be able to meet him at tomorrow's Cultural Festival.
Although she'd obtained contact information from three students of Sōbu High during the Kyoto competition, Asuna had never taken the initiative to reach out.
First, she wanted to surprise them. Second, she wished to get to know them again once all doubts were cleared.
Most importantly, ever since returning from Kyoto, she'd always felt as if she were wrapped in a thin, translucent layer. The entire world, everyone—even herself—suddenly felt illusory and unreal, as if she could see strange double images while dazed.
Yes, like playing a full-dive virtual reality game.
Physically more real than Sword Art Online, yet the feeling of dissonance with reality was even clearer than in any game.
Ignorance breeds fear. Once she realized this, Asuna couldn't suppress her dread; she even began to suspect everything.
Yet, she quickly regained her calm.
She didn't know when her mental resilience had grown so strong—so accustomed to weathering storms—but precisely because of it, she could maintain composure, observe everything carefully, and decided to keep her distance from everyone, even her family, until this thin layer was truly torn away.
After all, even her own memories might just be some kind of setup.
"The only thing I can trust... might be this instinctive urge to meet him..."
Her fingers gently slid over the numbers on the calendar, brown hair cascading over her shoulders and back.
The girl in her pajamas let out a long sigh, pressing her chest against the desk, her cheek slowly resting against its cool surface.
She closed her eyes. In the dark, silent room, only the sound of her heartbeat filled her eardrums.
The closer the day to meet him approached, the faster her heart raced, her chest fluttering without reason.
After such a long separation, she thought his face would fade from memory, but unexpectedly, it grew sharper.
As if she'd stared at him in a daze all day long, every line of his face was so familiar, as if etched into her soul.
"Yuu... Yuu-kun..."
Murmuring his name softly, she felt as if love-struck. Unable to bear the embarrassment, she covered her warming cheeks.
This didn't feel like love, but what exactly was this emotion? Asuna couldn't name it—this was why she looked forward so much to meeting him.
No matter how many problems existed, she would find answers simply by seeking him out... Even if everything was an illusion, Yuu was still the person she wanted to meet, enough to transfer schools for.
If her feelings were as sharp as a blade's edge, then there was no reason to hesitate!
In short—just stab first!
"Alright, let's do one final confirmation!"
Rousing her spirits, Asuna rose from her prone position, grabbed her phone, and dialed.
"Hallo, Nii-san? Do you have time to talk now?"
"Hm? Yeah, what is it?" Faint sounds of gaming could be heard, followed by Kouichirou's slightly silly voice. "Aren't you going to Sōbu High's Cultural Festival tomorrow? Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
"I'm about to sleep—I just want to ask a few things before bed."
With a friendly tone, Asuna smiled:
"Nii-san, you haven't told Tenkuji-kun about my business, right?"
Including Yuu's class, whether he'd be in class or club during the festival, what programs his class had prepared, and so on—all this information, Asuna had long known through a spy.
Though they usually didn't meet in real life, her older brother seemed to be discussing some sort of business with that guy; their online chat frequency had sharply increased lately. Though ninety percent was business talk, there must've been ten percent casual conversation between friends, sharing updates.
So one day, out of curiosity, Asuna managed to extract information about Yuu from her brother, gradually becoming bolder, skillfully using her brother as a ruthless information machine—
She asked through him about things she wanted to know, commanding him to investigate things she wanted uncovered, without revealing herself. Slowly, she made herself understand who Yuu truly was.
Of course, to prevent her brother from saying something like, "My little sister is really interested in you—she's been gathering info about you like crazy lately," or interfering and taking initiative to set them up, Asuna also had safeguards.
"Of course not! How could I say that? I never mentioned your name—only asked about him every day until Yuu almost thought I was gay..."
At this point, Kouichirou's voice suddenly showed a hint of sorrow.
Like a hostage pushed out by a robber, forced to tremble under the aim of multiple guns.
He feigned sniffles, crying pitifully: "I only cosplayed as a woman once at a comic con because my friends forced me! Who knew you happened to pass by and took photos to blackmail me—if I don't help you, you'll send those photos to Mom's email... Asuna, you weren't this cruel before! What's wrong with you?!"
"Nothing~" Asuna casually swung her small legs, showing no mercy on her face, replying indifferently. "You just don't know me well enough. I'm indeed a wicked woman who'll do anything to achieve my goals~"
Kouichirou gritted his teeth: "Is it worth it, sacrificing your own brother?"
"Sacrificing Nii-san? Hmm..." Tapping her chin with a finger, Asuna puffed one cheek, nodding thoughtfully. "I think it's quite worth it."
"Ah—!"
On the other end, Kouichirou seemed to drop his controller, despairingly groaning: "How can you say something so stabbing to your brother like that? You're not the sweet, innocent Asuna anymore... By the way, he only won a national championship—have you fallen for him that hard?"
This was the excuse Asuna used to cover for her brother—she saw him compete at the National Kendo Championship and spent two days playing with his team, so she accidentally started liking him.
As for why she gathered info secretly instead of initiating chances to interact... wasn't it normal for a girl to feel shy?
Anyway, no one would believe the truth, and Asuna was too lazy to care about her brother's opinion.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm super obsessed with him~" Asuna sighed helplessly, rising from her chair. "Don't worry, after meeting him, I'll delete the photos, and you won't need to help me gather info anymore."
Kouichirou sighed in relief: "Good, good. If I keep chatting with him like this, what if I end up liking him more than you do... Besides, Asuna looks like someone who has absolutely no idea how to chase a guy."
After a pause, Asuna asked, laughing cheerfully: "What did you say? Could you repeat that?"
"Just kidding." Sensing great danger in her tone, Kouichirou instantly turned serious, his voice showing a strong will to survive. "Asuna, whenever you want to bring him home to meet Mom, I'll gladly go first and praise him in front of her!"
"Is that so..."
As if not hearing the sentence, Asuna sighed sadly, murmuring to herself: "Ugh, if only Mom knew the reason her elite-raised son likes wearing women's clothes is because he's attracted to his high school male friend, how shocked would she be..."
"Sorry, I was wrong!" If Kouichirou were there, he'd probably be prostrating himself firmly before his younger sister.
"From now on, I'll do whatever you ask, without question! Even if I have to beat Yuu unconscious and tie him in your room, I... I...!"
His fierce tone suddenly stopped, then weakened: "...I can't do it either... Yuu's strong like a monster—even with weapons, I'm not sure I could defeat him... In-game, I don't know."
"In-game, you wouldn't be able to defeat him either, you know? Even I..." Asuna grumbled unconsciously, then suddenly froze in place, frowning slightly.
Before her brother noticed the oddness, she quickly corrected herself: "Anyway, starting today, Nii-san, don't interfere in our affairs anymore. Thanks for your help all this time."
"Hah? Help? If it weren't for you threatening me..."
Her merciless smile: "Enough, if there's nothing else, I'm going to sleep."
"Wait, don't hang up yet!" Kouichirou hastily called out.
"What now?" Asuna yawned lazily, walking toward her bed.
"You changed your attitude too fast—like throwing away an ice cream stick that didn't win a prize..." After complaining unsatisfied, Kouichirou finally said something serious.
"I have some juniors in Sōbu High's gaming club. They borrowed several NERvGears from me for this year's Cultural Festival—they say they're holding a 'World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament' in a virtual game... Come help me check it briefly, make sure they're not doing anything weird."
"A World Martial Arts Tournament?"
Hearing this, Asuna was no longer sleepy.
Her eyes sparkled, sitting on the edge of the bed, blood boiling with excitement, she asked eagerly: "It's held in Sword Art Online, right? Can I join too?"
Kouichirou gave a dry laugh with an unreadable expression.
"Don't go bully weaklings—it sounds bad."
"What are you talking about, I won't bully weaklings!" Asuna wrinkled her nose, pouting as if feeling guilty. "I only defeated all of you attackers' team—how come you'd revoke my participation rights... Who knows, maybe your e-sports club juniors are strong too!"
"How strong could they possibly be compared to the National High School Women's Fencing Champion?" Kouichirou sighed helplessly. "Just come help me check the situation. If you're really itching, give them a little hint—don't seriously bully people."
"Hmm... Alright, alright, I got it!" As if doused with cold water, Asuna's interest immediately dimmed, her cheeks puffing slightly. "Besides, there's Mom—she might not let me play games."
"Good then." Kouichirou kept reminding her, "Remember to watch the pain level—they don't have keys to adjust it to 100%, but even 60% is pretty painful... If anything happens, we'll ultimately be responsible."
"Then why did you lend them?" Rolling her eyes wordlessly, after giving a half-hearted reply, Asuna hung up, placing her phone on the charger beside the bed.
Turning off the lights and climbing into bed, the darkness of the night outside instantly enveloped the room, as if trying to merge with it.
Yet, her mind still spun rapidly, completely unable to fall asleep.
Asuna opened her eyes wide. The sentence she'd just spoken naturally surfaced in her thoughts—
"In-game, you wouldn't be able to defeat him—and I... couldn't either?"
This added-on question was stated with confident certainty.
If she had truly played that game with Yuu, even married him in-game... With her unexpectedly aggressive personality, she'd surely have frequently challenged him to duels—the winner would issue commands the loser had to obey for a whole day.
And precisely because Asuna had never won, she subconsciously became utterly convinced that even in-game, her brother couldn't defeat him.
The logic was crystal clear; she had no idea how to argue against herself.
Pulling the blanket up to her chin, Asuna let out a soft sigh.
"Right... This isn't an illusion..."
She remembered the broken ring item in the game.
She remembered the completed couple's quest.
She remembered the nearly simultaneous login and logout data.
She remembered the pounding heartbeat and longing that had never diminished since then until now.
"Pff... Puhuhu..."
For some reason, Asuna couldn't stop the corners of her lips from smiling. She quickly curled up, hiding under the blanket and laughing to herself.
Laughing foolishly, dazedly—like an elementary schooler who doesn't have to finish summer vacation homework, wriggling oddly in bed like a maggot, completely unable to contain the bubbles of joy rising from deep within her heart.
"Haaah... Thank goodness..."
After a while, her mood finally calmed slightly.
Making sure her silly laughter didn't wake anyone, Asuna peeked her head out, rolling halfway around while hugging the blanket.
She gazed far out the window, letting her final sigh—slightly tinged with laughter—drift into the night through the gap.
"Tenkuji-kun... Yuu-kun..."
Though no stars were visible that night, the moonlight outside the glass felt clearer and more real than ever before.
"I'll come find you."
"Leaving right away, running away."
"Wait for me—to meet you..."
Murmuring like a dreamer, the girl fell into a deep sleep.
Perhaps she dreamed beautifully, wrapped in the gentleness of night, the corner of her lips forever wearing a faint, sweet smile.
Her hand, placed beside the pillow, gently clenched—yet there remained a small gap between her palms.
As if she had already grasped the shape of happiness.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The next day.
In the morning, birds chirped outside the window, musical notes scattered across the carpet like light.
Slowly opening her eyes, Yuu sat up in bed, calmly staring straight ahead. The digital clock mercilessly displayed the date of the Cultural Festival.
"...Finally, we've reached this day."
December 12th—inauspicious for travel, celebration, or gatherings.
"Haah—"
Hand covering half his face, Yuu supported his head, letting out a very long sigh from his lungs the moment he woke.
Even so, his expression remained flat and calm—like a battle-scarred soldier who'd survived countless battlefields, facing a bloody life without fear of hardship.
"Complaining won't help... Maybe I should just take sick leave."
Then firmly decided to surrender.
No one knew how much pressure he'd felt since the day he learned that the mothers of both his girlfriends would visit the Cultural Festival—and greet him.
Besides that, there was one other thing he couldn't tell them, hidden deep within Yuu's heart...
So for today, he truly didn't want to face reality.
After lying in bed lost in thought for ten minutes, Yuu resignedly got up and left the room to freshen up.
"What should I do... Even though they'll surely forget everything once the mission ends, I can't possibly delay until then..."
The entire morning was spent pondering this problem.
Unfortunately, before finding an answer, they had to prepare to head to the Cultural Festival.