Abyss of the Shrine Maiden

Bane, the Crimson Demon

Premiere cocks her head questionably. “A...hot spring? What is that?”

Koharu taps her chin to figure out an explanation. “Well...it’s like...a pool of superheated water. Wait, you’re telling me you’ve never been to one?”

“No, I have been to this thing called a hot spring.” Koharu eyes each girl in her vicinity, knowing that every one of them loves taking a dip in a hot spring. One of her first activities with them before Asuna and the boys returned from the Ocean Turtle was a hot springs trip in ALO, so she knows the group enjoys them. With her family’s real-world business being a resort that includes hot springs, Koharu was practically raised bathing in them, an excellent way to relieve stress from a gymnastics meet or piano practice.

Now that she thinks about it, Koharu wonders whether she’ll get back into athletics. Her body has mostly recovered from four years of disuse, but to regain the athleticism she had at fifteen years old may be trouble for the nineteen-year-old. She never considered what she’d do with her life post-high school. It was either performing gymnastics or taking on the family business; that was what she remembers putting on those dumb career plans third-year middle schoolers had to fill out.

SAO changed her a lot, though not on a surface level like Kirito, Asuna, and Jaymes. For example, she remembers that Asuna once fell for a fake log-out spot because she wanted to take the high-school mock entrance exams that day; nowadays, that same girl is playing a game with friends on the weekend instead of having her head stuck in a book. Koharu knows those two years raised her confidence in herself. She knows, had she come out when everyone else did, what she would have done, and in truth, she has that now. But that’s the wish of Koharu, the Kindred Assassin, the Goddess Lunaria. What is the wish of Koharu Hanao?

“Hey, Premiere. When we find Tia, what do you plan to do afterward?”

Premiere looks at the incoming Kirito party. “I want her to be with my friends, to get to know how nice and fun you all are.”

“Do you think it is possible? Genesis...and the negativity of the players affected her, after all.”

“It might be hard, but I do believe it can be possible. You all taught me that before, so I want Tia to learn the same.”

“...I see.”

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Brungrot Caverns

Kirito and Jaymes return to their group after meeting with the assembled players down the cavern. From what they report, the floor boss is at the other end of the cavern, and another raid is about to commence. “From what you’d expect, they got their butts whooped.”

“Seems like this boss is no pushover.”

Kirito nods then looks to the crestfallen Premiere. “Don’t worry, Premiere. If we work together, there’s nothing that can stop us!”

“...I concur. Friends allow you to overcome difficult obstacles.”

“Right. Let’s join this raid.” Kirito leads the group over to the rest of the raiding party just as the meeting begins. It’s been a while since Koharu has participated in a raid meeting like this. She skipped out on the one New Aincrad had just a few weeks ago. One difference is that the meeting isn’t hogged by any guilds, though there are several present by the number of groups matching armor colors and the like. If anything, the raiding party combines several small guilds or fractions of big guilds. Nothing like the domination of numbers Lind, Kibaou, and Heathcliff’s guilds had for raiding parties.

Of course, their lives aren’t on the line either, so that might also factor in the informal gathering.

One player takes center stage and rallies everyone together. “Okay, everyone, let’s go over what we know about the boss.”