Two days later
"That was reckless, sister."
It's one thing to scold yourself for being reckless, or to have someone you're close to scold you for the same thing. It's an entirely different matter when the scolding comes from a boy six years your junior, and he's one hundred percent correct that you were reckless. That's Koharu's predicament as she whines to herself.
The previous day, after some time with the gang and the newly acquired Tia in SA:O, she went out in the city for some errands with Asuna when it began to rain on their way home. It might've seemed like chance, but...in reality, Suko warned Koharu it would, and her response was the classic "Oh, I'll be back before it happens." Unlike Asuna, who lives much closer to the station, Koharu had to run for dear life, and to make things worse, she tripped and fell into a puddle. Add in the fact she was still exhausted from the very late night of chasing and fighting Tia. Her body totally collapsed.
Stuffed in her bed, clothed in pink pajamas, the red-faced girl looks to Suko as the boy stands up and looks back with a scowl. Somehow, she finds it funny, and it trickles out as laughter. That causes him to frown even more. "What's so funny?"
"You, taking care of me. I can't say I ever saw this happening after I used to take care of you when you were little."
"Hmph. Mom and Dad left me here with you, so I'd do just that, but come on, Koharu." The scowl falls as the boy pushes up his glasses and sits on the bed. "Big Bro is gonna be pissed…"
"Big Bro? Who...oh… Oh no!" Koharu sinks deeper into her bed, just now remembering Joshua is returning soon. His father woke up minutes after he logged off Sword Art: Origin, and he stayed an extra day. If Koharu reflects correctly, he should be back sometime in the afternoon. And after she planned to meet him at the station...and after he told her not to do something reckless that'll worry him. "He's gonna kill me."
"He is. You deserve it. Oh well, at least you already died once."
Koharu raises in shock and glares at her brother. "S-Suko!"
He doesn't look unfazed as he adjusts his glasses again. "Your clothes are falling apart, sister." Koharu looks down in alarm, seeing that her top is, in fact, not falling apart. Facing her brother again, she delivers a pouty face which doesn't bother him a bit. He shrugs and stands up, picking up the tray of food that was her breakfast of rice porridge. "Anyway, let me know if you need anything, at least until this afternoon."
"...Are you going out?"
"Yes."
"And leaving me here alone?"
"No. You'd be dead by then, remember?"
"...I wish you wouldn't joke about that."
"Then get better, Big Sister." Suko leaves and closes her bedroom door behind him. Koharu sighs, feeling exhaustion catch up to her. Seeing no further point in staying up, she closes her eyes and hopes her brother's 'wish' doesn't come true.
xxxxxxxx
Couple of hours later
Poke.
When Koharu stirs, that's the first sense she feels. Someone, or something, is poking her cheek. Not just the stabbing motion, but it comes with small, carefully crafted circles on her left cheek. At first, she thought her brother was messing with her again, but the motions jog a deep memory of carefree mornings spent at numerous inns. Her partner would always wake up first and let her sleep in, but when he got annoyed with her enjoyment of slumber, he would poke her face until she woke up. At first, it annoyed her, but as time passed and they got closer, she would 'stay asleep' and see how long he'd keep it up. In the few months between his confession and her death, she intentionally encouraged it.
So when she feels the finger retreat, she whines, letting him know she wants him to keep it there. She hears a chuckle and the return of the finger. Smiling, she opens her eyes and glances at the real-life form of her partner. Joshua sits on the side of the bed, looking down at her with a faint smile. "You're back."
"Mhm."
"Is your dad fine?"
"He is. Or will be. What about you? Suko told me what happened, but how are you now?"
Koharu turns away to the wall on her left, hiding half her face in her pillow "...You aren't going to kill me?"
"No, although Suko encouraged it. 'She died once. She should be used to it.' I almost agreed." Koharu frowns and grumbles back, causing Joshua to laugh. His hand reaches over her, holding an infrared thermometer, and points it at her. After a beep, he retracts it. "Hmm, ninety-nine point nine degrees. Still a little feverish."
"Ninety-nine point…"
"Excuse me, that's somewhere over thirty-seven and a half degrees Celsius. I forget I'm American trash… Well, continue to get some rest. I'll leave the door open so--"
"No." Koharu turns over, raises, and holds Joshua from behind. She's practically pressing herself into him while holding him as tight as her strength will allow her. Along with her loose clothing, she realizes how the situation looks, but she can be embarrassed about it later, if at all considering their past. But she doesn't want to spend another moment apart from him, sick or otherwise. "...Stay."
"But…"
"Please… I need you." She realizes how that sounds, but she really means it. Call it selfish, but she doesn't want him to go anywhere, and she doesn't want him to see anyone else. She doesn't want anyone else to occupy his attention, and, if she must really be honest, she just wants him to herself forever. But once again, that's the selfishness of herself from SAO, not the girl who lives in the current world. Koharu Hanao is too ill to care either way.
And it seems Joshua has lost the will to fight her. He turns his head, nodding to her. "Okay...but only for a while. I'm not going anywhere."
"Still… I don't want to lose sight of you." She releases him and lays back down. Scooting over, she pats the space on the right side of the bed where he sits. With some hesitation, he slides underneath and throws the cover over them. Once he's settled, Koharu scoots towards him, placing her head underneath his chin and holding his waist. He shifts, but he doesn't retreat. His arm cradles her black hair and combs it lovingly, at least to her.
"Why so needy, Ko?"
"Because… I feel like you should hate me."
"Huh?"
Koharu holds Joshua closer but doesn't look up to him. "I… I don't want to do this here. I envisioned we'd have this conversation like on the school rooftop, but… Why don't you hate me?"
"Why should I?"
"Because I just inserted myself into your life like I wasn't absent for two and a half years. And even now, I'm living a lie. I'm living the life Koharu the Kindred Assassin wanted, a life that may have been more real if you and I escaped SAO together. But now, she's playing catch up, and I, Koharu Hanao, have done nothing to stop her. I...cannot help but feel guilty about it, because, in all honesty, it shouldn't be me with you right now. If I weren't here, you'd be with Liz or Sinon or whoever right now, not me. And I bet they hate me for taking their chance away, especially Liz. She loves you, the real you, while I cling to the other side of you, the virtual hero I only got to know, and that's two years older and very different.
"When we were hunting Tia, I did things because that's what I knew you'd do. You would have chased her down. You would have fought her to make her understand. And I was your partner. I was with you almost every day. I thought I knew you better than most. I know what you're like when you're happy, you're the kindest person ever. I know what you're like when you're angry, and it scared me to see you that way. And I know what you're like when you want to protect someone you care deeply for, and that frightened me several times to my core. But I wasn't there when you were at your worst. I wasn't there when you killed those Laughing Coffin members, and when Kayaba revealed himself. I wasn't there when Asuna was held captive in ALO, and you and Kirito went to save her. I wasn't there for Gun Gale, for Ordinal Scale...but Lisbeth was for every part of it.
"So if anyone deserves to hate me, it's her. I stole the one person she cared. I bet the other girls hate me for a similar reason. I wished Asuna and Kirito hated me too, just a little bit, but most of all, I want you to hate me, to tell me that you wished that I never survived Sword Art Online at all. That it was better that I stayed where I belonged, just a lingering memory of yours. So I--" Koharu's immediately silenced by her head being scrunched against Joshua's chest. He holds her with a grip comparable to a little kid to their favorite stuffed animal, hoping he doesn't pop her head off. "J-Joshua…"
"You're never a memory." He slightly releases his tension to raise her head to him, moving his hand down to wipe her wet eyes and hold her face. "Sure... We might have done this wrong the entire month. I, too, allowed this to happen without thinking much of the consequence. I was so happy to have you back that I didn't realize until the other night what I contributed to. No, I should have put a stop to it when you confessed how you felt. Those feelings...they were meant for Jaymes the Crimson Warrior, said by Koharu the Kindred Assassin. Koharu Hanao, I think, doesn't or didn't have a chance to fall for Joshua Hardin, and Joshua Hardin...for better or worse, still feels for Rika. So, maybe Joshua does hate you for interfering with his life."
Joshua turns on his back, staring at the ceiling. "It's just...when Kazuto and Asuna got back together, it hurt me more than anything that they could be together while I had to watch. And even when I got with Rika, part of me was still unfulfilled, and that's why, in the end, she broke up with me. I wondered if I ever did anything wrong, and I did. She was right to do what she did. I didn't care that Asuna and Klein lost their memories. I didn't care to help Kazuto. I...had one goal, and that was to honor your wish, to help my friends. 'Joshua' continued to take a backseat in life as long as there was a moment 'Jaymes' needed to be there to keep his partner's dying promise. In the end, I was more of the boy from SAO than I was the boy she fell in love with.
"Once I realized that, I resented him. I put aside the Crimson Warrior after the OS and White Frontier incidents and thought I was done with him. I thought, after seeing that false copy of you, I settled my past once and for all...then I confronted Administrator. I saw Medina sacrifice herself in front of me, and it spurt the same feeling it did when I watched you die. And soon after, I was back in the same cycle. I bet I spent those endless decades in the Underworld acting as I believe I would. All because I made a promise and strove to keep it more than anything else. That promise was more important than anything else in the world to me."
Koharu shuffles and reaches up for Jaymes, taking her hand in his. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault I did that."
"But if I never asked you of that, you'd never done those things, not in my name. You'd done it for one of your own. And that's why… That's why I think we should end this."
Joshua's eyes widen. "End...what?"
Koharu thought he would understand, then realized how her words might've sounded. "Oh. No, no, I don't mean us dating. I mean...maybe we should. It is a by-product of what I'm really suggesting, but...I don't want to end that. I think we should end the bond that binds the Crimson Warrior and the Kindred Assassin once and for all. Our partnership. Only then can we live as Koharu Hanao and Joshua Hardin, and hopefully, a new bond between Jaymes and Koharu can be born."
Joshua goes quiet for a few seconds, closing his eyes. When he finally makes a move, he rolls out of bed and walks out towards a backpack. Moments later, he pulls out his Amusphere. Plugging the system into the nearby outlet where Koharu's is also hooked up. He hands hers to her and returns to the bed. "Log on to Origins, meet me in the Town of Beginnings in the Teleport Square. That's where we'll put an end to this." Koharu, confused by what he has planned, silently nods along and puts on her headset, turning it on. Once he places his on, she eyes him, seeing his reassuring smile. "Ready?"
"Mhm… Link Start."
"Link Start."
xxxxxxxx
Town of Beginnings
It took them a few minutes for Koharu to make it to the Teleport Gate area of the Town of Beginnings, but once she did, Jaymes waved her over towards the gate itself. She thought they were going to teleport to some part of the game, but instead, he walks off the platform and heads in the direction of the Market Square to the east. She says nothing for a moment, just internally wondering why she didn't just meet him at the Market Square, but then he diverts from the main path down a side street.
"Where are we going?"
"Where it began for us."
"...If you mean where we first met, then I don't think--"
"No. Where our partnership began… Which should be right around here." The pair comes down a sloping, branching pathway that leads down to a bench. At first, Koharu doesn't understand why Jaymes is showing her here of all landmarks in the city, and then it comes back to her in a wave of memories.
“Hey,” Koharu looks up and sniffs as Jaymes comes back with a piece of bread. “With the Col I had, this was the cheapest thing I could buy. Not much, but it’ll do for right now, right?”
“Thank you.” Koharu begins to munch on the loaf of bread, gasping at the incredible taste of it. “Is that butter?”
“Mhm. Pretty good, huh?” After a moment of eating in silence, Jaymes breaks the ice by facing Koharu. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah. Sorry I freaked out on you back there. I should have kept calm.”
Jaymes shakes his head and pats hers gently. “No, you had every right to panic. Maybe I’m the weird one for not panicking… I’ve talked to Kirito and Klein via messaging. Kirito is heading to the next village. Klein is gathering his friends and gonna head out soon. He offered me a spot in his guild, but… Making sure you’re okay is my priority at the time.”
Despite tears in her eyes, Koharu manages to smile. “Thanks.”
“Aw, how touchin’.”
Alarmed and protective, Jaymes turns his head upward. Koharu follows, seeing a small person leaning against the railing of the stairs just behind where they are. It looks to be a girl, possibly around their age, with blond hair, yellow eyes, and similar equipment to Jaymes with a different color scheme and the addition of a brown cloak. “And who are you?”
“I’m Argo! Nice to meetcha! What happened there was crazy, right?” She jumps down, raising her arms as a sign of nonaggression. “Heeey, relax, big red. I won’t bite...much.”
Jaymes backs down but still stands between the girls. “I guess you couldn’t do anything if you tried. Not in the safe zone.”
“What are we supposed to do? Will someone save us from outside?”
Argo answers Koharu’s question without hesitation. “Nay, I don’t think so. If someone could’ve fixed this, they’d done it by now. So two choices. Wait for help that won’t come, or take action! Take your pick, Big Red.”
“I’m not hiding in fear. I”m an experienced gamer, so this kind of challenge, minus the severity, is up my alley. But what do I need to do?”
“First, you’re gonna need some cash, or Col as it is called here. You need to buy or buff your equipment. I know easy quests with a good payout. Interested? Just remember, don’t let your guard down.”
Jaymes nods. “I’m interested. I need to be able to survive.”
“Great, that’s what I like to hear!”
“But first…” Jaymes turns around and kneels to Koharu’s level. “For now, being part of the beta gives me a leg up. But it is you I’m concerned about.”
Koharu glances up. “Huh? Why is that? I mean, we don’t know each other in real life, and we barely know each other here. You have the skill to go out there and fight. You don’t need me around, I’ll just hold you back and all.”
“You’re right, we don’t know each other and, for the lack of a better term, you suck...but you’re the only person I know in this game that’s still here.” Jaymes smiles and holds his hand out to her. “Besides, you said we should play together, and I agreed. The situation might have gone completely sideways, but a promise is a promise. Koharu, no matter where this game takes us, as long as both of us are alive, we can clear this game! Of course, I know I’m asking you to risk your life...but I’ll do anything and everything in my power to make sure you live.”
Koharu lowers her head, and her eyes somehow land on the time display. 8:00 pm JST...dinner time back home, yet she’s trapped in another world… “No. No, I will not have you protect me all the time. Maybe for now, sure...but I promise I’ll get stronger. We both will...and we’ll see the hundredth floor of Aincrad together!”
Jaymes nods and lifts Koharu from her seat. “Then, from this moment onwards, we’re partners.”
“Partners… I like the sound of that.”
"This is where...well, looks like where we went after Kayaba gave us the news. I cried like a baby, you gave me some food, we met Argo, and declared ourselves partners."
Jaymes nods and opens his menu. "You're right. I found this spot on a whim one day while...reminiscing. I can't believe I followed the exact path. Of course, I didn't bring Argo along. I don't want to be anywhere near the Rat for free."
"You love her. Admit it."
"Maybe when she's necessary, but if she went to school with us, I'd piss my pants… Anyway, it looks like the others have noticed our presence online. I don't think we should keep you online any longer than we are."
"Agreed. I wonder how Tia's doing. She really stuck to me yesterday."
"We'll probably join them later on once I deem you well. But for now, this will suffice." Jaymes steps away as a prompt appears in front of Koharu...a duel request. She gasps and looks to Jaymes, who says nothing and reaches for the sword on his back. He's serious...Koharu glances back down at the rules. It's a first-to-deal damage kind of duel, not the half-health or full-health. The most lax of the types, but the hardest one to fight, especially with someone who knows you and you know them. One slip up and a victor can be declared immediately.
And for the first time in years, Koharu is dueling Jaymes. And for the last time ever, the Kindred Assassin will stand with the Crimson Warriors as his partner.
She clicks the confirmation button and steps back, the bench mentioned above between them. Koharu glances at the timer, ticking at fifty-three seconds, and reaches for her two daggers on her back. "Is this a good idea?"
"Do I ever have good ideas, Ko?"
"...Was this the best idea of them all?"
"The only one that makes sense. When we met, you were the noob, and I the veteran. It's safe to say that, for years later, that distinction no longer applies. You fought bravely in the War of Underworld, even challenged and fought someone as strong as PoH all by yourself. You've done other things too...but now, this is the truest measure of your strength. This is the last thing we'd do as Jaymes and Koharu." Jaymes eyes the timer and draws his sword, holding it over his shield. Ten seconds remain, and Koharu does the same, holding her swords in an x-shaped position.
"I'll prove my strength to you, Jaymes."
"Then let's end this, Koharu." Koharu tightens her grip as a beep plays between them. If this were a friendly duel (well...it might be one still), Koharu would wait Jaymes out. She knows he will never take the offensive first as long as he has his shield in front of him, so there's no point in waiting on him. She darts off to the side, using the bench as leverage as she leaps into the air and swings her daggers down. Jaymes repositions himself, letting his blade meet hers. His eyes glint with intrigue as their blades lock. "Not using a sword skill?"
"I won't need them. I'll beat you on my own."
He shrugs and smirks. "Fair enough. But don't underestimate me because you have two daggers, Ko. You'll have to do better than that." Koharu clenches her teeth at his mocking tone and leaps back, rebounding for a quick flurry of attacks. Jaymes defends himself with his sword so mockingly...at first, she thought he was taking her seriously enough to use the shield! Annoyed, she swings both daggers low, aiming for his hand but missing just a bit. However, it got him to drop his sword, clattering on the pavement between the girl's legs. He looks at the fallen blade, then to her as he blocks her attacks now with the shield. "Well, now I'm impressed."
"You're making fun of me. That's mean, considering how I feel."
"Yes, yes, I'm an ass for taking advantage of a sick girl right now. Oh, and may I add that she's wearing very loose and thin clothing. Guess you really did need me, huh?" Red-faced, Koharu almost quips back, but she doesn't have to as Jaymes' back presses against a lamppost. He realizes his predicament too late as Koharu adjusts her right-handed dagger into premotion and leaps forward.
"Canine! Eeeeeyah!" The blade glows orange, flicks upward, and at the last possible second, Jaymes leans to his right, barely escaping the upward one-stroke sword skill. His eyes widen with surprise as he sees the mark Koharu left on the lamppost. Koharu, however, takes advantage by pivoting and swinging the left dagger at him. He deflects with the shield and slides back to his sword, kicking it up in the air and catching it.
"Liar! You said no sword skills!"
"You taught me to fight dirty, didn't you? Like every fight can be my last fight."
"...You're not very kindred right now." Despite his protests, he bears a smile and points out his sword. "Shall we continue?"
Koharu nods with a smirk of her own. "Let's go!" The two trade blows, sparks are flying in the afternoon period of day. Koharu, despite all her trying, can't find a hole in Jaymes' repertoire to exploit; likewise, her speed and agility give him trouble as well. But furthermore, they know each other's moves. He trained her in all she knew, and she was a very astute student. His strength and her agileness are as much a match against each other as they are as a team.
They're so focused on each other that neither realizes they're drawing a crowd, and neither pays much attention to the clock until they hear a beep indicating that thirty seconds remain. Koharu and Jaymes separate and hold their blades in position.
"Nova Ascension!"
"Integral Existence!" Purple and blue lights clash as Koharu's right dagger and Jaymes' sword ring against each other. For five of Jaymes' swings, Koharu meets them, and after the skill finishes, she immediately activates the skill for the left dagger before her opponent's sword lands a hit. She matches Jaymes stroke for stroke until his final blow, which ends with a vertical upward slice that takes him airborne. As she deflects one more time and he hangs in the air, Koharu does something she's sure Jaymes does not expect. As he takes to the air, she uses the momentum of the contact of their blades to slide underneath the rising swordsman, pivots on her palm, and clips Jaymes on his shin once he lands back on the ground. He falls on his back, and she quickly straddles him, knives to the neck, deep enough to draw red lines and win the duel.
With five seconds remaining, Koharu defeats Jaymes. He sighs and drops his head back, chuckling while covering his eyes with his arm. "Dammit."
"What?"
"At first, yeah, I was playing around, but then...yeah, I was right." He lowers the arm and raises, then looks around to see the cheering crowd. "Oh, we have an audience...and I lost to a girl with an aud--oh no." Jaymes' face locks in fear as he continues to face the crowd. Koharu follows his line of sight and gulps down as she sees a familiar set of blonde hair, a faded-grey hood, and a set of pesky whiskers eyeing them with keen eyes.
"Argo."
"...This better be worth a high price." He sighs and looks back at Koharu. "As I was saying, I was right when I heard from Asuna how you took on PoH. You're...plenty strong. Four years ago, I would have defeated you without much effort, but here you are now. You pulled a fast one on me with that last move. I thought we'd end in a draw."
"To be honest, I just did it. I didn't think about it until I performed it."
"I see." Jaymes raises a hand and lets it run through her lengthy, raven-colored hair. "Congrats, Koharu." Koharu nods and leans down, her lips softly brushing against his, but before she gets engrossed in the moment, she remembers there's still a crowd present...and a very noisy Rat.
"Let's go offline."
"Yeah."
xxxxxxx
"Ko, are you hungry… Or still laying down in embarrassment?" Koharu's fever has significantly fallen, she's recovered enough to be active at least, but she remains in bed, her entire body covered by sheets in embarrassment. Once they got offline...things happened in the heat of the moment...and her happiness and eagerness have long been set aside. Add in the fact two of her friends know that Joshua and Koharu are together right now, she's sure that if Argo doesn't sell the information to them, Koharu's face will tell a particular story tomorrow at school to Asuna and Kazuto.
She hears Joshua walk over to the bed and move the cover down for her head to pop out. That smile, that annoying, mocking smile, is present on his face. "Hey."
"H-Hey."
"You initiated it, so that you know."
"I know."
"And I did give you three chances to end it."
"I know."
"So why are you embarrassed?"
She frowns and sits up, covers held to her body. "How are you not? Oh right, Liz..."
Joshua shrugs as he backs away and throws Koharu her pajamas. "Well, yeah, but only twice...yet that I think about it, it does feel like… You know what, let's not go there about the Underworld. There's some chicken noodle soup in the bowl, so eat up."
"Uh-huh." Koharu makes a mental note to bring up just how...active he was in those 200 years/20 minutes and dresses herself, although a little more loosely than before. Sitting up, she grabs the bowl of soup and slowly stirs the mixture while watching Joshua sit at her desk. "Hey."
"Hmm?"
"You said that you have clearance to dive into the Underworld soon, right?"
He nods. "Yeah. Probably."
"When you go, can I come with you? I want to see the world you three left. I don't remember my first dive, and of course, the second one was the war."
Joshua looks at her with some disbelief. "And?"
"...I want to meet Eydis too."
"...Because?"
"I should know all the girls who I'm competing with, and unfortunately, she's won for 200 years. Also, to thank her for taking care of you during that time. She sounds like a great friend."
"I don't even remember those years...but I do miss her. But I suspect she'd want to meet you too. I'll...see if I can arrange it."
"You sound scared."
"You and Rika are one thing, but the girl I spent two centuries with and the girl I loved for four years meeting is scary. Like Asuna versus Alice scary." Shuddering, Joshua spins around in the desk chair, stopping one hundred and eighty degrees away from the desk, and stares at the opposite side of the room. She sees his curiosity while he stands up and moves to the object of interest, removing the cloth covering it. "Oh… A keyboard?"
Koharu slurps the soup and nods. "Yeah. It's my old one. For obvious reasons, my parents kept it and all my stuff from before SAO, including my clothes."
"Well, you haven't grown that much lengthwise. Just in other are… Anyway, you plan on playing again?"
Ignoring his unfinished comment, Koharu shrugs. "I thought about it. I'm done with gymnastics for sure. It'd be years before I'm in that shape again. But I did love playing piano. I just...haven't touched it yet." She sets the bowl down and looks to the floor. "What do you think?"
"Well… What do you got to lose getting back into it? You did dabble in the instrument skill during our time in Sword Art Online. Didn't you buy that brooch because it reminded you of the one your mom got for a recital?"
"No, she bought it for my first gym meet, but I did wear it to that recital. It's just...it's been so long, so I don't know if I'm as good as I used to be."
"Do it," Joshua says as he turns to her. "If it's something that brings Koharu Hanao back to the land of the living, do it. As a matter of fact… Nijika was telling me she just landed a huge deal with her collaborating on a song with Yuna, but writing the song has been a pain of sorts. I don't know if being musically inclined is any help...but you did help Yuuna long ago, didn't you? When she played her song for you, right?"
Koharu raises her hand to her chin. The offer sounds interesting, and it is true; she did help Yuuna with her song long ago. Nijika is a rising star, and Yuna is an overnight phenomenon. To help write their duet and compose the music is a fearsome task. Maybe too large for someone who hadn't played music in many years. "I don't know--"
"Nijika and Yuna want you if that helps."
Koharu looks up, nearly dropping the bowl in surprise. "W-What? Why?"
"Well, someone might've said you used to play piano when you were younger when the topic was brought up, and the other someone thought it'd be nice to have you work with her on this. So if anything, it's Nijika's idea. Eiji advocated the idea too, and Yuna's on board. The decision, however, is yours."
"...I'll think about it."
"Fair."
"But if I go along with it, or even if I don't… I do want to play the piano again." Koharu stands up and joins Joshua at the keyboard, pressing a key. Then another, then a third. "In turn… You have to do something too. Not as Jaymes, but as Joshua Hardin."
He sighs and folds his arms. "What can I do about that?"
"The same as we did. The bond that tied the Kindred Assassin to the Crimson Warrior is severed...almost. There's actually one last thing I need to say." Koharu looks up to Joshua with a serious expression. "Forget my promise to you. I absolve you of protecting anyone else because a girl thought she was dying in her partner's arms, and a boy wished to honor her. When you do it, if you ever do it again, do it because you care for that person, or whatever reason you have, as long as it's not because of me...unless it is me, of course."
"Okay. I'll never do it again because of you… Now what to do about Rika except break her heart? Actually… I know what to do." He sighs and folds his arms, clearly troubled by the idea he hasn't spoken. "It might go wrong, terribly wrong...but I made my choice. Dad told me to find out who I should be, and I know I haven't yet. He and Kazuto told me that I should choose whoever would walk that path with me, as they did with Mom and Asuna. Rika is a great girl, and all that happened between us is my fault. The truth is...whoever I am to be, I want to find out with the reason we broke up. I changed who I was with you once, Ko. I want to do that again...and many times over in my life."
Koharu steps up to Joshua, taking his hand and leaning her head on his chest. "Same for me. I don't want to fight Rika myself. I want to be her friend like we used to be, but…if I had to choose, I wouldn't sacrifice how I feel for you for anyone. It might go terribly wrong, but it's something that has to be done for all of us to move forward. I'm not fading away from you this time. Wherever you go, I want to be there. Wherever I go, I want you to be beside me. Wherever life's road takes us, let's do it again. As Joshua and as Koharu...and as Jaymes and Koharu. Not as two separate halves of ourselves, but as one. From this moment onwards, we’re partners.”
“Partners… I like the sound of that.” Joshua raises his hand to Koharu's head and rubs it. "First order of business, Tia and Premiere."
"...Oh, right, this is their story too."