Timeless [Yuuki Konno X OC]

Chp. 35 - Zekken Vs. Sinon

[Alfheim Online, New Aincrad, Floor One Coliseum]

[Yuuki's POV]

My match was up next, Malzeno had completely stomped his opponent, one of the toughest Salamanders in ALO no less! The way he fought reminded me of when me and him duked it out for the first time, how he actually pushed me with a weapon class I clearly underestimated. He looked so cool, and confident, and... 

I watched as Malzeno left for the food stalls with the other archer, Sinon, the two seemed to have talked about something and made off. It still made me feel strange, those two are close, huh...? That train of thought made me inwardly panic and shake my head--I'm overthinking it again.

"-uuki, hey, over here," To my left, I felt Nori drag me away to speak privately by a tree with Asuna, both smiling back at me while I remained confused by what they were grinning away for. "Okay, so...?"

"So..." I slowly made a circle gesture with my hand, and Nori scoffed, slapping the top of her head.

"Have you told our resident man in dark leathers?" Nori insisted again, and I froze up, turning my head sharply. Everyone else was too busy, good, then I pressed my finger to her lips. "Relax-" She pushed it aside. "-no one's in ear-shot,"

"And no, I haven't--this isn't really the best time for all that stuff anyway, everyone's focused on the tournament and I don't want to distract him or anything..." I wanted to say something, but today was a busy day and my own anxiety kept me rooted in place.

Asuna, my voice of reason, tapped her cheek in thought. "I agree, there's no reason to rush into this, but, you don't want to leave the impression you're not interested. Mal, for all his strengths, is very insecure, especially with how people treated him back in SAO,"

Nori clicked her tongue, wincing soon after as I felt my chest tighten at the reminder. "Right... orange player and all that," She paced for a second, then spun around with her fist in her palm. "Alright, nothin' too crazy, but droppin' a hint ain't a bad idea. If he's insecure about romance then this is important, he's only going to question how he feels about ya otherwise,"

"...he's not the only one..." I murmured, rubbing the back of my neck as it felt hotter with the topic. "A-are you sure this is okay? What if I, I dunno, spook him?"

The undine girl smiled at me, patting my head. "Like Nori said, this will be something small, and something you yourself need to be comfortable with,"

"Exactly. Setting's not all that important, but make certain nothing's around to suddenly interrupt or cause a big scene," Nori instructed, wagging her finger at me like some lecturer, and I had a nagging question because of it.

"Why are you so knowledgeable about this stuff?" I had never heard her once talk about being in any romantic relationship, so this was all new to me. Normally, Nori's the first to tease any of us about anything romantic.

The ravenette smirked, puffing out her chest. "Believe it or not, but I'm the former matchmaker in school before I got stuck in hospital for my treatment; still got the Nori Guarantee," 

Asuna giggled at this, "I can vouch for her, everything she's said is correct. Most people, not just guys, need little hints that the person they're interested in feel the same way. Go with that and you'll know when the right moment is,"