liens | (no subject)

[Four months.

It's been four months since Kirito's heart stopped. Four months since that one horrible day he'd walked Asuna home. Four months since the doctors turned on the machines and came out to tell his aunt, Sugu, and Asuna that while he was alive and stable, he'd been gone too long. The ambulances had been just a few minutes too late, the doctors just a fraction too slow. There was no way for modern medicine to reverse the damage to his brain.

There was no way Kirigaya Kazuto, the boy who had cleared the Death Game and sent thousands of people home, would ever wake up.

It's been three months and thirty days since his body vanished.

But there in the mail, sitting on Asuna's doorstep when she gets home exactly four months later, there's a package. And inside that package is a device not unlike a NerveGear as well as a single cartridge with black English lettering on the side. UNDERWORLD. There's no manual, no case, no instructions or anything. Just a power cord for the helmet and a slot for the cartridge.

There is, however, a note. Unsigned and scrawled in careful penmanship.

He can't wake up on his own.

What'll it be, Asuna? Will you take the dive?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's painful, seeing ... nothing from him. No recognition, no strange awareness, not even his usual aloof bratty attitude. Here, he's a stranger. A fact she can deduce in less than a minute of being in the game. Funny, that.

But it's strange, being here. It feels like ... real life. There's no feedback to let her know the outskirts of her vision are still game world, no stats, no display, no ... nothing. It's just a school with a foreign boy that should, above all else, know her. Was this the state of his mind? Was he so far gone that he knew nothing?

She blinks as he murmurs words, lights his hand and soothes the dull ache in her shoulder. Well. Definitely not the real world, though. Failing magic. That sounded right, at least. He was a tank for a reason. --The bell startles her as well, eyes roving around the hall as the mass of children still about hurry off.

... With no introduction, there was little hope of her knowing what to possibly do next, either. It was clearly some sort of school simulation, but ... what type? With magic, no less? ]

Ah... It feels better now, thank you. [ And then she fidgets briefly, even despite his mournful look to the rest of the hall. ] Are you ... Going to class?

[SCHOOL KID DEPRESSION ACTIVATED!!!

Okay maybe not quite that dramatic, but he does definitely sigh and droop a little at the mention of class. Just for a second. Before he's taking in a breath, clapping his hands against his cheeks, and turning to look at Asuna with a small smile.]

Mm, though I'm late now. You're new, right? Do you know your schedule yet?

[ It hurts, it hurts, it hurts having him look at her and not know who she is, have no fathom of recognition and it leaves her with such a physical ache she wonders vaguely if the NerveGear will boot her off for a broken heart.

But it stays and she breaks a smile, trying to already lift the depressive swing she can practically feel waving off of him. He'd never seemed entirely adverse to schooling before ... But then, she also knew next to nothing about what was here, why he didn't know her, why ... anything. It was just a feeling, that trying to force him into remembering wasn't going to work. If anything, it would do more harm, than good. For now, at least, she'd play along. ]

Mhm. I don't, no. I think I'm ... a little lost, actually.

Right. Well- [He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small little cube and hitting a pressure plate at the front of it, causing the little piece of metal to spread and separate, for different places to light up and project upward with a list of classes, as well as a clock running in the upper right. It's not too dissimilar to an HUD, really.] Still time before the lock out. You have the guide, right? So let's see... [He'll help her fish out the guide from her pocket, will walk her through activating it, pulling up her schedule and seeing what classes she was assigned.

Oddly enough, it looks like they're in almost every single class together.] Matsuo might not be mad if I get us there before second signal. [With a flick of his wrist, he shuts down his guide and pockets it, reaching out and wrapping his hand around her wrist with a slightly apologetic smile on his face.] Just hold on, Asuna.

[It's like, in that one instant, the one utterance of a name he shouldn't know - or rather, should know - it's like a film is being ripped away. For a moment, Asuna will see her own status, she'll see her health bar, her magic bar. She'll see the little help icon at the top of her HUD, and she'll see a small, flashing yellow triangle at the bottom right corner. More than that, though, she'll see Kirito's display. She'll see his HP and MP and she'll see above that, where his name is usually written, there's just a line of ???????????.

He takes a step, and she'll see the glow around him, she'll see the slight MP usage- and then they're moving. His skill wraps around her, speeds her up, and he guides her through the halls, down the stairs and out into the common area, slipping through the doors of the gym a split second before a second chime echoes out and the door behind them glows red with a barrier.

By the time they get there, the displays are gone, and all Kirito does is give Asuna a small smile before moving towards the students sitting on the gym floor.

But as soon as Asuna recovers, as soon as she reaches out or moves forward, it's like the color drains away from the scene. All noise and motion stops, every student as well as the teacher up front frozen in place.]

I didn't think you would come. [A woman's voice, behind her. But Asuna will find she's unable to turn around and actually see who it is that's speaking.] Don't most relationships at your age end within four months?