Accel World Vol 1 Chapter 5 (1/2)

Chapter 5

‘—Why? Why?’

While hunching his shoulders dejectedly and trudgingly walking home on the evening sidewalk, Haruyuki kept repeating those two words in his mind.

‘Why did things turn out this way?’

‘Even though I only desired to be Kuroyukihime-senpai’s faithful p.a.w.n, why did I reply in such a quarrelsome manner in the end and rush out of the store to return home?’

‘Please, let me go back just 30 minutes in time!!’ Haruyuki keenly prayed for that, but it was impossible, even with Brain Burst that could nearly stop actual time.

But then, even if he could reload that scene like an adventure game, he felt that it would still be difficult to obediently agree to the theory that Chiyuri = <cyan pile=””>>. Haruyuki just couldn’t believe that Chiyuri was a Burst Linker and moreover that she had hid it from him for such a long time was possible.

No—It wasn't that he didn't believe it, but that he didn't want to believe it.

Honestly speaking, there was no objective proof that substantiated this. Though it had been different when they were young, he hadn't had a long talk with Chiyuri for the past one or two years here. Even though not as much as Kuroyukihime, Chiyuri, as a girl, was also a plenty mysterious existence to Haruyuki.

Also, it could be said that there was proof that disproved that she was unable to keep something secret. Because, even though Haruyuki had begged her so much, Chiyuri had consulted about the matter of his being bullied with Tak.u.mu and hid that from him.

Come to think of it, before he could make such a dangerous request like Direct Connecting with her, he had to at least apologize for the matter of knocking down the sandwiches. And in order to apologize, he would first have to accept and swallow the fact that Chiyuri and Tak.u.mi had discussed this and that about him.

That could easily take one week. Rather, he didn’t want to think about it. He would rather not confirm it and leave the matter alone. But then, he would have no choice but to accept the Chiyuri = <cyan pile=””>> theory.

‘What in the world do I want to do? What do I want to do with Taku, Chiyuri, and Kuroyukihime?’

While overloaded with thoughts that practically emitted burnt fumes from his head, Haruyuki pa.s.sed through the entrance of his apartment building with heavy steps.

He briefly glanced at the time display in the corner of his vision. It was 5:30 PM.

Chiyuri would already be home, but Tak.u.mu should be still at school practicing in his Kendo Club. So, the two of them couldn’t be having a private chat together at one of their homes.

Inside the elevator lift, Haruyuki agonized within himself plenty until the warning alarm rang.

Then, he pressed the b.u.t.ton for the 23rd floor where he lived.

After the lift had risen halfway, he pressed the b.u.t.ton two floors below that.

”Oh my, Haru-chan, it’s been so long since I last saw you!!”

As Chiyuri’s mother cried out that out with a smiling face as soon as the door opened, but Haruyuki mumbled a 'long time no see' in response.

”Ah, you’ve grown taller, how old are you now, wait, that’s right, you're the same as age as Chiyu who is 13 years old, after all. Since you haven’t come over to play ever since entering middle school, oba-san* was so lonely, you can take it easy and stay here as long as you like today, okay? Please have supper here, since my daughter has been eating so little lately, all the food I’ve made has been in vain. That’s right, I thought of making Haru-chan’s favorite dish of curry today, I will be cooking a lot of helpings tonight so just help yourself, Chiyuri will also be happy, since she’s been displeased about not playing with Haru-chan recently.”

The seemingly endless chattering of Chiyuri’s mother was cut off by a sharp voice that sounded from inside the hallway.

”Mama!!”

Looking past Chiyuri’s mother, Haruyuki saw Chiyuri staring at them with an expression of raging fire as she stuck her head out from the living room.

”Please don’t talk about unnecessary stuff!!”

”Yes, yes, she’s at that rebellious age. Haru-chan, please relax and stay as long as you like.”

Seeing off Chiyuri’s mama as she retired to the kitchen from a door in the middle of the hallway while waving her hand with a pleasant smile, Haruyuki once again put a stiff smile on his face.

”...H-Hey.”

”......”

Giving a long stare, Chiyuri moved her small chin in a manner that signaled “Are you coming in?”, and then disappeared back into the living room. Letting out a strained breath and taking off his shoes, Haruyuki mumbled quietly.

”Sorry to intrude...”

In the past—until the time of his third or fourth year of elementary school, he would had said “I’m back” instead. Back then he would play outside with Chiyuri and Tak.u.mu until it was dark, and he would always return to the Kuras.h.i.+ma household first after becoming sweaty. He would take a bath, be treated to dinner and even watch the television before wearily returning to his empty home two floors above. To Haruyuki, who had been bullied at school even in those days, those evenings were the only times that seemed fun.

But that also ended two years ago.

That time, when Tak.u.mu confessed to Chiyuri, and she then consulted with Haruyuki about it.

Among the slippers on the rack next to the door frame, the ones with blue bear faces that Haruyuki had always used were still there. He put his feet into the faded slippers and timidly opened the door to the living room, but Chiyuri was nowhere to be seen within.

After running his sweaty palms on the trousers of his uniform, he pa.s.sed through the house that he knew like the back of his hand and softly knocked on the door to Chiyuri’s room, which had been inside the most.

”......Come in.”

After a brief moment of silence, he heard the short reply. After taking a big gulp, Haruyuki turned the doork.n.o.b.

Since he had last visited it two years ago, Chiyuri’s room hadn’t changed much from his memories, having the same simple interior decoration as back then. Her desk and bed had a colour tone of black and white and her curtains were also a monochrome, very similar to Haruyuki's room.

But, there were also several changes. First, it had a somewhat excessively good smell. Second, there was also the clothes of Chiyuri, who was sitting on her bed with a sullen face.

Of course she wasn’t still in her uniform. However, Chiyuri, who had had only a tomboyish appearance during elementary school, was now dressed in a pink fluttering skirt with some kind of white fluffy sweater.

Well, after all...she did go on dates with Tak.u.mu... As Haruyuki thought that while stunned, he was. .h.i.t by an unexpected first strike.

”I called you so many times yesterday.”

”Heh...?”

Staring at her from below, Haruyuki let out a stupid response.

‘Yesterday—oh, right, that day had ended with me running away in front of Chiyuri and Tak.u.mu. Uhii, before that, I have to apologize for the earlier sandwich incident first.’

”Y-Yeah, that…it’s because I disconnected my Neuro Linker during all of yesterday…”

”Letting me send you a message should be fine. Because of that, I didn’t go to sleep until really late last night!”

”So…Sorry…”

As Haruyuki apologized to Chiyuri who was puffing out her cheeks, he murmured in his mind ‘Just as I thought, she couldn’t be’.

No matter how he thought about it, she just couldn’t be that. To think she could be the Burst Linker «Cyan Pile», and moreover a strong warrior of Level 4. And on top of that, a super-hacker that successfully could change the Brain Burst program that no one else could as well!

But, even if he said that, getting proof of that wasn’t easy. Like he declared to Kuroyukihime, the only method was to do a memory-range-search while Direct Connected together, but how could he ask such a thing in this situation?

‘No—Wait, wait.’

Haruyuki quickly jumped at the idea that suddenly flashed through his mind.

Because it’s such a situation, couldn’t he ask it? It was inexcusable to Chiyuri, but—No, he wasn’t particularly tricking her. He would apologize sincerely, and at the same time check her memory a little while synced…

”Ah, ah, uuum, Ch-Ch-Chiyuri!”

Haruyuki cried that out as he intensely stumbled over his words, which was acted on his part.

”Wh...What is it?”

”That is...I-I’ve come to a-apologize about various things...like the sandwich incident, and the incident in front of the school gates. B-B-But, I’m not very good at talking with my mouth like this, so, umm...please D-D-D-Di-Direct Connect with me.”

Chiyuri stared opened-mouth at Haruyuki’s face, which had sweat that certainly wasn’t part of an act sliding down it.

The angle of her plump eyebrows rose even more as she went from surprised to suspicious.

No good, this was just too abrupt, after all. As Haruyuki resolved himself to being yelled at, a strangely defiant look appeared on the face of his childhood friend. That—was the face that Chiyuri had always shown in the past when quarrelling with boys, which basically said “Just try it if you dare”.

”…Did you bring a cable?”

As shed suddenly asked that with a stiff voice, Haruyuki shook his head while thinking “Oh no”.

”Err…I-I didn't bring it.”

”Fu~n. Just so you know, I don't have anything except this.”

Bending her body forward and opening a case underneath her bed, what Chiyuri took out was a mere thirty centimeter off-white XSB cable.

”S-Short. Do you…always use that with Taku…?”

When he unconsciously asked that, she immediately started yelling at him.

”A-Are you an idiot!! Takkun carries a one-meter one. This is the cable for connecting to a PC that was attached when I bought my Neuro Linker!!”

”Ah...aah...”

Because the super-fast communication standard Xtra-Serial-Bus (XSB) required a high-grade cable that was securely s.h.i.+elded, the ones that attached as bonus equipment were always short. But even so, wasn’t thirty centimeters a bit too short? What a stingy manufacturer.

Effortlessly tossing the cat tail-like cable over to Haruyuki who was thinking about escaping, Chiyuri snorted lightly and rolled her small bad onto the bed.

”Do what you want.”

Not knowing what to do with the cable in his hand that was like a burning wire, Haruyuki spoke nervously.

”U-Umm…if possible, err, could you please sit on a chair with your back facing me…?”

No response. Chiyuri didn’t seem to intend to move even an inch as she laid sprawled on the sheets.

Haruyuki quite seriously thought ‘Hmm, should I run and escape?’, but he had already done that in front of Kuroyukihime today. If he ran away again here, the situation would reach the point of being impossible to fix.

”...T-Then...”

Having made up his mind, Haruyuki shuffled over to the bed that Chiyuri was lying on, and took off his slippers.

Slo~wly, he put one knee on the white-and-gray striped sheets.

The st.u.r.dy-seeming pipe frame of the bed protested with a creaking sound at the weight that was several times heavier than it was used to.

Once he had crawled forward on all fours until he was within seventy centimeters away from Chiyuri’s ride side, Haruyuki first placed the plug at one end of the cable into the outer connection port that was on the right side of his Neuro Linker in the back.

Then, he tilted his head at an unnatural angle and held out the plug at the other end while stretching it to its limits. However, the port of the closed-eyed and lying Chiyuri was still practically a light-year away from him.

‘Ugeeeh, oh no, I should have approached from the left instead. Should I draw back and approach again, no there isn’t that kind of psychological room left anymore, but even so it’s absolutely impossible for me to go to the other side by crossing over Chiyuri.’

Having fallen 90% into a panicked state, Haruyuki tilted just his upper body in a very precariously balanced posture and forcibly brought their necks closer to each other. A sweet smell like that of milk drifted from Chiyuri’s body, and his sense of balance became unsteady—

Immediately afterwards, his left knee slipped. Just before he pressed against Chiyuri’s slender body with his large build, his outstretched hand was just barely enough to stop his fall.

Nonetheless, the situation was on the brink of a crisis. With his left knee in the s.p.a.ce between Chiyuri’s spread out legs and his left hand having landed right next to Chiyuri’s right cheek, his body was being supported in a dangerous position. Uoooaaaah, what’s with this situatioooooooon, as the needle of his panic meter swung into the red zone, Chiyuri’s eyes, which were only ten centimeters away from him, blinked open.

Haruyuki couldn't read the expression that was in her big light brown pupils. Of course, there was anger and irritation in them. But, that seemed to have less to do with Haruyuki’s current insolent conduct—somehow, it seemed like she had been biting back those feelings for quite a long time—

Unable to endure gazing at each other’s eyes any longer, Haruyuki moved his right hand and inserted the plug into Chiyuri’s neck. The Wired Connection warning that appeared hid Chiyuri’s face from view for a moment.

—The delay wasn’t more than a second, but even so Haruyuki somehow managed to reorganize his thoughts in that time.

Blinking several times, he turned his gaze away from Chiyuri’s eyes and fixed his focus around the slender collarbone that peeked out from the collar of her white sweater.

”Umm…I…came because I felt I didn’t apologize about the matter the other day.”

The words, composed through thought-speaking, resounded through both their sense of hearing without stumbling, despite their awkwardness.

”Umm, about spoiling that boxed lunch you went to such trouble to make…I'm, really sorry.”

Though he was apologizing for that seriously—

Haruyuki moved his right hand’s finger outside of Chiyuri's vision, and opened the storage icon.