Timeless [Yuuki Konno X OC]

Chp. 57 - Disappearing Act

[IRL, Saitama Prefecture, Kawagoe]

[Malzeno's POV]

Parting ways with everyone, we felt it best to just forget about the battle for the time being and destress, which I was happy to do. Only Riku was with me now, I had finally talked Yuuki down to go and relax and chat with the rest of the guild and I'd be online in the morning for her to connect to my Augma.

We approached our home when she finally spoke up again. "I-I'm sorry, I..." She struggled with her words, so I leaned against the wall to wait and listen as her face cycled through expressions, head lowered. "When we were shoved, I-I could just see that dragon flying toward us, a-and I knew we had to move, I knew that, b-but I... froze,"

"It happens to every player in Full-Dive, AR is no different, there's just points our natural instincts overpower the devices themselves," I'm certain that's happened to me before without much thought, like tonight when I leapt into shield Yuuki and Mito.

Kneeling down, I squeezed her shoulders, meeting her misty eyes, she looked embarrassed by them too. "I know you hate being scared of a video game, heh, join the club. But listen, you're gonna fumble here and there, no one's gonna think less of you, you're not an avid gamer like us, like I said, take your time. Tonight's double dipping of pain and torment certainly wasn't expected, but you handled it far better than half the people I saw get flambéed,"

She giggled at that, wiping her tears dry, "Right, I-I'll improve, I still want to go to these events i-if that's okay?"

"Aw, now how can I say no to this pretty face?" I cooed, making her shove a hand against my face, glaring at me for a moment but still I caught her in a tight hug. "Come on, let's get you to bed,"

"You know I'll just go watch stuff online," I knew that, but ignorance is bliss.

"I never said you wouldn't," I replied, leading the way inside, kicking off our shoes before we headed down the hall.

"Uh, that little sprite on Kirigaya's shoulder, Yui? She said that the dragon was actually from the 91st Floor of SAO, like, the hell was that doing in a fight against the 12th?" Riku looked flabbergasted, shaking her head. "That's all levels of messed up, even for experienced players it was complete overkill, freakin' scared me half-to-death,"

"91st, huh?" I blinked, giving that some thought for a bit. "SAO..."

Catching my muttering, Riku eyed me with a brow raised. "Yeah, you guys only got up to the 75th before the game ended, right?"

"Mm," I nodded, though more out of habit. 75th Floor... that was... a quarter boss battle... Scratching my head, I gave her a sheepish grin, "Ah, sorry, head's still a bit fuzzy after my pride was sliced by an overgrown lizard straight off a death metal vinyl cover,"

"No kiddin', you've been staring off into space unless we talked to you," Riku turned to me fully, hands to her hips. "You sure you're alright?"

"Hey, I've taken worse hits," That had her skeptical brow rise higher. "Okay, so I may've hit my head, probably, I'm fine, really, relaaaax, sis,"

"Uh huh, well, if you pass out, you owe me if I have to drag your ass home," Riku snorted, heading off to the kitchen. "Hey Mom, Dad, we're home,"

A cup of tea would do me wonders right now before I passed out for the night. Maybe I'll actually have a better answer for Riku in the morning once my head's clear of fog...

---{------->※<-------}---

"I'm tellin' ya, this dungeon's gonna be a big scoop for inteL!" Argo happily skipped along the dirt road leading me to God knows where.