Accel World Vol 4 Chapter 11 (1/2)

Chapter 11

“A win ratio of 100%!”

After firmly clenching his right hand, Haruyuki dropped his shoulders and continued.

“…Is how it should have been, but we lost that last battle…”

The next day April 20th, Sat.u.r.day evening. The location was the same as yesterday, the living room of the Arita home.

The territory battles between legions, composed of the best within the fighting game «Brain Burst», were performed every week at this time. The legion that Haruyuki and the others belonged to, «Nega Nebulas», had expected a hard fight this week with their master Black Lotus not present, but once it started the results had been mostly complete victories by them.

The reason for this was because Lime Bell, who had just joined their legion yesterday, had immediately partic.i.p.ated in the battles.

Although her «healing ability» was actually a «time-reversing ability», it could certainly be used as a means of pseudo-HP-healing. The only problem was that, when they were repeatedly healed, then shot, and then healed again, they returned all the way to their previous damaged state if their time was turned back too much, but that problem could also be covered by the ability-user’s intuition.

Therefore, Haruyuki and the others used the tactic of having either Silver Crow or Cyan Pile always protecting Lime Bell, and meanwhile having the other one of the two perform a kamikaze attack and then return to their base and get healed. This method functioned well, and they thought that they could score victories in all of their territory battles—but.

The long range-type three-person team that challenged them last didn’t approach the base of Haruyuki’s group at all, but instead used the strategy of showering concentrated firepower on the person that performed the kamikaze attack. As a result, the remaining two members of their group had had no choice but to advance forward gradually, and then received the fortified attacks of special techniques when they reached the place where the three opponents had gathered, and so quickly got annihilated.

“Well, it can’t be helped. It’s enough that we were able to win this much with this hastily constructed team.”

As Tak.u.mu said that and sipped his L-sized drink, Haruyuki pouted his lips.

“Yeah, but still. In the end, our weak point of having no long-range firepower was struck at and we lost.”

“That weak point won’t change even once Master returns, after all…”

“That’s if we omit her mind power, though.”

The two of them remembered at the same time Kuroyukihime’s long-range technique that had cut apart the distant Umesato school building with one blow, and their backs shuddered.

Perhaps because she was embarra.s.sed about her huge sobbing fit yesterday, Chiyuri had said she would Dive from her own home and didn’t come to Haruyuki’s place, so it was only the two of them together right now. After throwing into his mouth one of the fries from the hamburger set that he had bought at the shopping mall on the first floor, Haruyuki gave a cough and changed the subject.

“In any case, that’s enough about the territory battles. So next…Taku. Umm…have you gotten any kind of contact?”

It was a question that omitted the last words ‘from Noumi Seiji’ at the end, but Tak.u.mu gave a small shake of his head.

“No…not at all. I’m also worried about it, though…Even if it was a duel proposed by him, I can’t believe that Noumi would immediately give up after losing.”

“Me too.”

They both sunk into silence at the same time as the atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

While taking another fry and chewing its tip, Haruyuki mumbled.

“……The avatar called «Black Vise» that appeared there. He said something strange. That ex-Acceleration Ability Users who have lost Brain Burst cannot interfere with Accel World in any way. Just what did he mean by that…?”

“Eh…? Didn’t he simply mean that, since they can’t accelerate, they also can’t duel?”

“I also thought that was what he meant back then. But he didn’t say it like that…I feel like there’s something he purposely wasn’t saying. —Hey, Taku. What I’m about to ask may be unpleasant to you, but.”

Looking at Tak.u.mu who was sitting down on the sofa next to him, Haruyuki asked.

“Your «Parent»…the kendo club captain in your previous school, he underwent the forced uninstalling of his Brain Burst from the Blue King’s «Judgement Blow», right?”

“…Yeah, so I heard.”

“After that, did you talk to him? About Brain Burst.”

Then, Tak.u.mu knit his nicely shaped eyebrows, and looked as if he was thinking about it a little.

“—I had hurriedly transferred to another school after that, so…Although I went to the kendo club to give my greetings and farewells, there were other club members there on that occasion, so naturally I didn’t talk about Brain Burst with him. Besides, somehow, he seemed unexpectedly unbounded by something, so I also didn’t dare to bring it up again with him.”

“Unbounded, you say…”

After murmuring that, Haruyuki thought a little about having heard something similar somewhere before. He immediately realized. It was the Red King Niko’s Parent, «Cherry Rook». After using the Armor of Catastrophe, Chrome Disaster, and rampaging through Accel World, he had received the Judgement Blow by Niko’s hand, and had lost Brain Burst.

Niko had spoken about him after that. Saying that he had returned to his original self and that the two of them had properly talked. That, even if he was moving away, they planned to continue playing other net games together. Somehow, it was similar to Tak.u.mu’s story.

However, he couldn’t believe at all that the examples of these two could be applied to Noumi as well. Noumi's shout of resentment just before he left Accel World still rang through his ears even now. Very probably, Noumi was determined to achieve revenge against them—and yet. He still hadn’t contacted Haruyuki, Tak.u.mu or Chiyuri yet.

“…On Monday, we’ll have no choice but to talk to him directly.”

Tak.u.mu said that with a sigh, so Haruyuki also gave a small nod.

“I suppose so…There’s also the matter of the video…”

If they thought that what Noumi Seiji would do now that he wasn’t a Burst Linker and had nothing to lose in Accel World anymore, it was possible that he would expose that peeping video for the sake of revenge and distribute the real life information of Haruyuki and the others to other Burst Linkers. The only hand they had that could oppose him was the Brain Implant Chip that Noumi had in his head, but Black Vise had also said something worrisome about that as well.

If Brain Burst is lost, the BIC also automatically ceases functioning, and will dissolve away like that.

The real form of the BIC was an aggregation of synthetic protein micro-machines. Since it was also possible for them to separate and dissolve depending on their programming, they couldn’t be detected with a scanner anymore if that happened. In other words, it couldn’t be used as a reason to make Noumi drop out of school.

Therefore, Haruyuki and the others couldn’t cut off contact with Noumi like this. They had no choice but to carry out direct negotiations one more time and make sure the video was erased. It was a topic that was truly heavy on their minds.

Finis.h.i.+ng his drink, Tak.u.mu spoke after throwing away the ice inside it in the kitchen, was.h.i.+ng the recycled material cup and throwing it away in a cup-exclusive bag.

“Then, see you at school on Monday. When you go meet with Noumi, should I also go with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll go by myself, but thank you. Good work today.”

Seeing Tak.u.mu off at the door and then returning to the living room to clean up, Haruyuki let out a sigh.

He looked at the clock of his virtual desktop, and then gazed out at the evening sky outside the window.

—Is that person still on the airplane? Or has she already arrived at the airport?

After thinking that absentmindedly, he shook his head and changed his feelings. He would meet her at school on Monday. He had endured for a week, so he could last another day and a half.

Therefore, when the door chime rang immediately after he firmly held down his feelings, he believed that Tak.u.mu had come to get something he forgot and so did not suspect a thing.

He decided not to take the time and effort to open the interphone’s window, and returned to the door. He canceled the lock while saying ‘Yes, coming’.

“Just what did you for-”

The last syllable of ‘-get’ got stuck in his throat, and his breathing stopped. However, without being conscious of it, Haruyuki widened his eyes as he just stared at what was before him.

Standing there was a female student in an Umesato Middle School uniform, with a paper bag hanging from her right hand and a carry-on bag with a motor a.s.sist hanging from her left hand. Her dark-red ribbon and long black hair swayed in the blowing gentle breeze, and he faintly smelled the scent of the south drifting from her.

“…For how many seconds do you intend to remain frozen?”

As she said that, Haruyuki’s brain finally rebooted. After repeatedly releasing several rough gasps, Haruyuki squeezed out a hoa.r.s.e voice.

“……S-S-Sen, sepa…senpai!? W-W-What are you…?”

“How rude. Even though I came here directly from Haneda[1] to deliver your souvenir.”

*PUKU* As his uppercla.s.sman—Kuroyukihime puffed up her cheeks cutely, Haruyuki stood straight at attention when he saw her expression. He made his hand go back and forth at high speed as if he were a traffic control robot, and spoke.

“Ah, c-come, come in! Please enter!”

“Thank you. Sorry for intruding.”

Nodding, Kuroyukihime stepped through the door, put down her shoes and carry-on bag, and entered the hallway. She quickly pa.s.sed by Haruyuki and went into the living room.

Chasing after her while his feet got tangled together, Haruyuki looked all around his home without knowing what to do anymore, and then spoke.

“…U-Umm, my parent never comes back until late.”

“I know. That’s why I came.”

“I-I see. Err, umm…I-I know, I’ll prepare some t-t-tea.”

As Haruyuki headed to the kitchen while telling himself ‘First calm down! Deal with the situation calmly!’, Kuroyukihime said ‘Ah, that’s right’ and put her hand into the paper bag.

“Then, why don’t you warm this up as well in the microwave?”

What she took out was a huge dark-reddish brown sphere. Haruyuki received the 15 cm-diameter sphere with both his hands and stared at it intently.

The characters printed in truly Okinawa-looking font on the transparent packaging read as «Bomb Andagi».

“……T-This is…sata andagi[2]?”

“Yes. Your request was that you wanted to eat something 30 cm in diameter, right? As expected, there wasn’t anything that big, so please make do with that.”

“N-No, this is already huge enough. I’m surprised at its size.”

“Right? I was also surprised when I saw it.”

Staring at Kuroyukihime as she gave a ‘Fufufu’ laugh, Haruyuki finally felt his tension drain away. At the same time as that, his eyes grew moist of their own accord, so he hurriedly turned around and retreated to the kitchen.

He picked out the huge Okinawa-style donut from the bag and warmed it in the microwave. He carried a bottle of Oolong tea and two gla.s.ses to the table, placed the andagi that had finished heating on a plate, and, after considering it a little, brought a pet.i.t knife to go with it.

Kuroyukihime, who was already sitting at the dining room table, took the knife from the plate and cut the andagi into two equal pieces while expertly handling the edged tool as expected. She held out to Haruyuki one of the halves that had steam warmly rising from its golden section.

“I…Itadakimasu.”

He accepted the offered portion and took a big bite out of its end. He enjoyed both its crunchy surface and its moist interior, and thought to himself ‘I see, this size also had a meaning to it’.

“I-It’s very delicious.”

“I see, that’s good.”

Here, Haruyuki finally arrived at the question of ‘In the first place, why did I request only something like a huge andagi?’.

As he desperately tried to remember his actions from back then while munching and chewing, Kuroyukihime, who was smiling on the other side of the table, gave an even wider smile on her daffodil-like beautiful face—and spoke.

“Now then, Haruyuki-kun.”

“Y-Yes.”

“I’m going to inform you of what I’m feeling right now.”