Best Friends and More Across the Multiverse

Day 2 Prompt: Food

Greetings, it's the often elusive Naintarlow here.

I know technically I am late by a whole week with the prompt for the second day, Kargo week is already over. My counterpoint is that I told you it will be like this well in advance.

I found I cannot write on demand or fast. I write what I like, though I still try to mainly work on my active stories, I just can't force myself to write any faster. Because of that Kargo week might be a month or more for me. So sorry in advance.

But rejoice because at last, it's time for the second prompt, this time with the theme food in mind. And other things. You know what? Read and find out. And a review or two might be greatly appreciated so I can improve and know if I am doing something right or not.

Enjoy.

"So, what's your story?" Kazuto asked without any of the usual amusement on his face as he handed her a towel, while also taking away her dripping jacket try.

He was standing in the living room of his rather small but cozy apartment, wearing simple faded jeans and a somewhat ragged-looking t-shirt that had the old Sword Art Online logo on its front with the large words BETA under it and looked like he just woke up. To be fair, he just woke up around 4 am, due to insistent knocking on his door. Added to the storm going on outside, he convinced himself to part with his precious sleep and see just who is that couldn't sleep and decided to bother him

Sitting on his sofa, wet and shaking from the cold, was a young woman with short, messy blonde hair that was dripping water everywhere, not that Kazuto cared about it. Since he started living alone, he did make sure that his apartment was relatively clean but he was no clean freak by any means.

She was wearing an oversized black t-shirt that reached down to her thighs, basically acting as a sort of small dress. It was once his shirt before it was claimed by the woman in question and was told to always have it available for her. In this case, with all her other clothes soaking wet, it came kind of handy.

She was Hosaka Carina Tomo, a soon-to-be first-year Uni student but to a lot more people she was still known by her previous moniker and name. Argo, the Rat, Aincrad's most infamous information broker. Who huffed like a wronged animal when he continued to look at her silently, waiting for that explanation.

"It's a long story." was all she said with a pout, even turning her head away and refusing to look in his eyes.

Kirito only rolled his eyes before walking over the kitchen counter and starting to prepare tea. His apartment was rather small, with the kitchen and living room basically being one room with only the counter as a sort of divide. While he was not hurting for money, thanks to his parents' support and the various odd jobs he did for Kikouka over the years, he also wasn't feeling the need to have a larger home, living alone.

"Well considering my girlfriend who tends to fall off of the grid and disappear for days on account of work, is suddenly knocking on my door at 4 am, during the worst storm we had around here for years, without even an umbrella and on the verge of freezing, I ought to be concerned," he told her, a hint of steel in his voice as he thought of anyone trying to harm his friends.

He might be sort of retired from the VR scene, after all, he was only playing casually with friends in a few select games nowadays and no longer running around from game to game, solving problems instead of the police or the virtual division, like some kind of virtual messiah. But that did not mean that the Hero of Aincrad, Kirito disappeared forever.

Be it in a game or even in the virtual world, if those he loved were threatened, it might just be time to take up his swords again.

Tomo might have heard something in his voice, before she huffed, with a hint of red on her face as she hastily looked away, dripping drops of rain everywhere. At the moment she was rather unlike her usual, mysterious, teasing, and sassy self. With how wet she was, she looked more like a cat that almost drowned, than her moniker as the rat.