Asuna, staying over at the Hikitani household, was having breakfast alone with Hachiman the next morning. As usual, Hachiman's parents had already left for work. Komachi, who typically joined them for breakfast, had left earlier for student council duties, leaving the two to enjoy a rare breakfast together. After finishing their meal, Hachiman turned to Asuna.
"Hey, Asuna, I've got some errands to run, so I can't log in with you today. Can you get the others' opinions on the uniforms?"
"Sure, leave it to me," Asuna replied.
"Nothing too flashy, okay? Keep it simple," Hachiman added.
Asuna was meeting up in ALO that day with others who happened to be free. Coincidentally, the group consisted of girls from the same school year: Yukino, Yuiyui, Yumi, Lizbeth, and Asuna herself—five in total. Their goal was to review designs for the guild's new uniforms. With Yuiyui and Yumi present, any outlandish ideas would likely be vetoed. The group also perfectly represented five roles—tank, heavy attacker, light attacker, mage, and healer—making them an ideal mix for balancing design considerations.
At the inn serving as their temporary base, Asuna used the built-in console to access external data and opened the email Hachiman had instructed her to check.
"Looks like Ebina-san designed these," Asuna said casually.
At that, Yukino, Yuiyui, and Yumi froze, while Lizbeth looked unfazed.
"Yumi, you okay?" Lizbeth asked.
"I want to believe she wouldn't go overboard, knowing she'd get in trouble later," Yuiyui said. "But… it's Ebina, so…"
"Asuna, did Hachiman-kun review these designs?" Yukino asked.
Asuna smiled. "He said, 'No way my taste could judge these, so I'm leaving it to you five.' Didn't even open the email."
Yukino sighed, resigned. "Fine, let's take a look."
She opened the console and accessed the email. Lizbeth peeked over. "Huh, there are files labeled with Yukino, Yuiyui, and Yumi's names."
The three exchanged wary glances, a bad feeling creeping in. After some silent standoff, Asuna reached over and opened the file labeled "Yuiyui." The five of them froze at the sight.
The design was an overly revealing bikini-armor-style outfit, with an exaggerated focus on the chest area, in bright pink. Below it, in what was clearly Ebina's handwriting, was a note: "This is totally Yuiyui's vibe!"
"Uh… um…" Asuna stammered, snapping out of it first and quietly closing the file.
Yumi sighed and shrugged. "Yuiyui, is this how Ebina sees me?"
"It's fine," Yumi said. "We're still in our growth phase. No need to give up yet."
"My genes need to start pulling their weight," Yukino muttered.
Lizbeth grumbled under her breath, while Yukino cursed her genetics.
"That was… a bit much, right?" Asuna said.
"Probably," Yukino replied. "The other two are likely in the same vein. Let's treat them as a joke and check them out."
The others nodded eagerly. Asuna opened the file labeled "Yumi."
"…Twintails?" Yumi said.
"It's… normal?" Yuiyui ventured.
"I vaguely remember Ebina trying to make me wear twintails and some weird cosplay once," Yumi said, rubbing her temples.
The design was strikingly similar to a certain blue-haired vocaloid, though none of them recognized it. Yukino pointed out a note: "Movable Twintail Armor?"
Sure enough, the description read, "Automatically rotates to block long-range attacks." Yumi pressed her temples harder, as if staving off a headache.
"Ebina's mind is beyond me," Yumi said.
"Chill, Yumi," Yuiyui said. "The design's kinda normal, right? I like it."
"Short-sleeve tie and miniskirt? It's cute," Asuna added.
"The concept's not bad," Yukino conceded.
"Yeah, it's cute!" Lizbeth agreed.
Despite debates over the "movable twintail" gimmick, the design was well-received and made the shortlist. Later, Hachiman would veto it, likely due to copyright concerns.
"Alright, Yukino's file is last," Asuna said.
"I'm scared to look," Yukino admitted.
"Here goes," Asuna said, opening it.
The moment Yukino's design appeared, she declared, "This is non-negotiable."
"What?!" the others gasped.
"Hold on, Yukino, I get it, but stop!" Yuiyui said.
"Yukino, you're into this stuff?" Yumi asked.
"Kinda surprising," Lizbeth added.
It was a near-exact replica of the maid outfit Yukino had once worn at a maid café, with one key difference: a pair of shining cat ears on the head. Yukino's lack of aversion to maid outfits stemmed from a fond memory—Hachiman's positive reaction when she'd worn it before. The cat ears? Self-explanatory.
"What are you all talking about? It's perfect," Yukino insisted.
"Someone stop her!" Yuiyui pleaded.
"Even I'm tempted, but… no way," Yumi said.
"It's staying on the list," Yukino declared.
"Once Yukino's like this, she's unstoppable," Yuiyui sighed.
"Haha, who knew Yukino had this side?" Asuna laughed.
"Liz, stop laughing and help us stop her!" Yumi said.
After much back-and-forth, the maid-cat-ear design made the shortlist. When Hachiman saw it later, he paused, conflicted, but ultimately rejected it with great reluctance. Still, he couldn't resist asking Asuna to try it on, only to be met with a red-faced Asuna forcing him to sit seiza for a lecture. Ironically, Asuna would later wear a maid outfit in an unexpected context.
Eventually, Ebina submitted a few serious designs. After heated discussion, factoring in Hachiman's "keep it simple" request, they settled on a leather uniform with armored accents as the top candidate. The color, per Hachiman's preference, was black—likely a nod to Kirito's signature palette. The shoulders were left bare for individual customization.
"It feels a bit plain, though," Yukino said honestly.
"Oh, right," Asuna said. "We'll add the guild emblem on the left chest, and below that, everyone can add their personal mark. Like this…"
Asuna manipulated the console, and a 3D model of the uniform appeared with the guild emblem—a pair of crossed red-and-white swords, blades downward, which Hachiman had shown the team earlier. Below it was Asuna's personal mark: a pair of crossed rapiers.
"Whoa," Yukino said.
"That's badass!" Yuiyui exclaimed.
"Looks good," Yumi said.
"Totally Asuna vibes," Lizbeth added.
"Hey, Liz, can you put that mark on my shield too?" Yuiyui asked.
"You got it!" Lizbeth replied.
The group marveled at how the emblem transformed the once-plain uniform into something striking.
"It's amazing how much a mark changes things," Yukino said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"So, we've got a week to come up with our own marks," Asuna said.
"Got it," Yukino said. "I'm going with a cat silhouette, obviously."
"I'm not sure what to pick…" Yuiyui mused.
"I'm the type to agonize over this stuff," Yumi said.
"I'll tweak a blacksmith hammer for mine," Lizbeth said.
"What about the guild name?" Yukino asked.
Asuna hesitated. "I know it, but I think Hachiman-kun wants to announce it himself. Probably after the uniforms are done, when we're all together."
"Fair enough," Yukino said. "It's not something weird, right?"
"Nope, it's fine!" Asuna assured her.
"Good," Yukino said, relieved. "I trust you."
With their goal accomplished, the five shifted to casual chatter. After a while, Lizbeth suddenly perked up. "Oh, right! Have you guys heard of GGO?"
"That's the FPS game on The Seed, right? I saw an ad recently," Yukino said.
"Yeah, it's a first-person shooter, all about gunfights," Yumi added.
"I've seen the ads!" Yuiyui said.
"So, what about it, Liz?" Asuna asked.
"They're holding GGO's first official tournament right now," Lizbeth said. "We can watch it from here. Wanna check it out?"
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The battle isn't over... and the truth has yet to be revealed. Read the next chapter now on Patreon! [patreon.com/Greyhounds]