Accel World Vol 4 Chapter 11 (2/2)

“Ye…Yes.”

“49% of me wants to praise you for doing so well. And 50% of me wants to give you a good whaling.”

…And the remaining 1% is?

There wasn’t the room for him to ask something like that, and so he straightened his back with a ‘HII’. A large fragment of food blocked his throat, and after he swallowed it down somehow, Haruyuki bowed his head down at full speed.

“I…I’m sorry! It’s all my responsibility. Even though I decided not to give trouble to senpai while on your trip, I depended on you in the end…And you even ran for 15 hours from Okinawa…”

“Hey, you.”

Suddenly changing her smile into a dangerous expression, Kuroyukihime spoke in an extremely displeased voice.

“I’m not getting angry with you because I had to fight. It’s the opposite. Why didn’t you call me from the beginning? If you had explained the situations in just a few words, I would have immediately flown from Okinawa and returned!”

“T-That’s…because, it was your only school field trip in your whole life…”

“I didn’t have that much fun there anyway! Will you not understand unless I also explain the reason for that as well!?”

Saying that with such force that she would have definitely cut the table in half with just her sword spirit if she had been in her duel avatar form, Kuroyukihime gave a sullen look with a ‘MUUU’. However, she fortunately breathed out immediately after, and dropped her tone a little as she continued.

“……Well, it’s fine. In any case, I’ll have you tell me about it. From the beginning to the end, without leaving out even 1 byte of information!”

And so Haruyuki recounted everything that had happened while munching on the huge andagi. The long, long story, which went from Noumi Seiji’s first appearance, to the first battle with Dusk Taker, to the training in the Unlimited Neutral Field—and finally to yesterday’s duel.

After she finished listening to the explanation that took about an hour, Kuroyukihime turned down her long eyelashes, and gave a thin sigh.

The words that came out of her mouth after several seconds were—

“…Haruyuki-kun. When you summoned that Enhanced Armament…«Gale Thruster», I thought my heart would stop.”

Drinking his Oolong tea, Haruyuki raised his face with a start. However, no words came out from his mouth.

Accel World’s recluse who had given Haruyuki the «Gale Thruster», Sky Raker. She had been a main member of the first «Nega Nebulas» in the past, and furthermore had been Kuroyukihime’s friend as well.

Having foolishly sought the sky, Sky Raker had asked Kuroyukihime to cut off her legs. Kuroyukihime had complied with her request—and after that, had thrown herself into a desperate and b.l.o.o.d.y battle with the other kings.

But right now, only a gentle, and also somehow sad, smile was shown on Kuroyukihime’s face.

“I can’t believe it…That the one to introduce the «Incarnate System» to you would be her…”

“……I’m sorry. I did something selfish without obtaining senpai’s permission…”

As Haruyuki apologized, Kuroyukihime gently shook her head.

“No. She would have been more qualified for it than me. Since Raker is probably the one that believes the most in the possibilities of that system among the high-level Burst Linkers that have mastered mind power. Besides…unlike her, I would not be able to completely turn into a demon when training you.”

She showed a smile, and Haruyuki also gave a big nod.

“Sh…She really was dreadful. She pushed me off from the top of the Old Tokyo Tower, after all.”

“Hahaha, that sounds like her.”

After laughing nostalgically for a bit, Kuroyukihime suddenly sank into silence.

Her gaze dropped down to a point on the table, but eventually she made her chair lightly screech on the floor and she stood up. She moved over to stand in front of the big window on the south side of the apartment, and stared into the night sky outside in silence.

Haruyuki looked at her back with her long black hair flowing over it for a while, but then he made up his mind and also stood up. He walked over to stand next to Kuroyukihime, and similarly looked outside.

“…The power of the Incarnate System is too enormous.”

She let out those words after several seconds.

“Therefore, all those who touch it become entranced by it. They reach into the deepest depths of its power, and plunge forward as if it belongs to them. But…I thought this. If it’s just a program bug, the administrator of the game should not have left it alone without dealing with it. Therefore, that power isn’t some irregular system that was created accidentally…instead, isn’t it a certain kind of trap that was prepared in Brain Burst from the beginning?”

“A-A trap…?”

“Yes. For the sake of tempting us Burst Linkers and drawing out our souls to another dimension somewhere…”

The meaning of those words was a complete mystery to Haruyuki. Even so, he furrowed his eyebrows in order to try to understand somehow, and then Kuroyukihime glanced at Haruyuki and gently placed her left hand on Haruyuki’s cheek.

“No, don’t worry about it. You should merely progress straight ahead as you’re doing now. Yes…if it’s you…Only you may be able to overcome that deep darkness, and approach the truth light of the heart…”

Smiling softly, Kuroyukihime faced him directly, and also put her right hand on Haruyuki’s face,

She then changed her expression and tone, and—

“Now then. With that out of the way, I’ll now tell you the remaining 1% of my feelings.”

*HII* Haruyuki’s entire body stiffened. Was it on the side of «giving him a good whaling»!? In other words, a judo foot technique!? No, a submission technique!?

As Haruyuki’s uselessly spun around in that way, Kuroyukihime put her arms around Haruyuki’s neck and drew him to her chest with all her strength.

*MUGYUUUU* Held by that intense strength, Haruyuki’s consciousness over-revved up too quickly from that all-directional pressure and the sensation of direct contact with what was in front of his face, and the gears in his head screeched.

Her voice reached his left ear, which was probably blazing crimson, so close that her lips touched it.

“—I wanted to do this. Since the time when I learned from Chiyuri-kun’s email that you had lost your wings…and yet were still doing your best to face your enemy, I always, always wanted to do this.”

Hugging Haruyuki even tighter with a strength that made him think ‘Just how far will I be absorbed by this thin body?’, Kuroyukihime whispered in a trembling voice.

“You truly did your very best. Under such painful circ.u.mstances…—At such a time, I wasn’t at your side and could do nothing for you. I…am a failure of a «Parent»…”

A hot drop touched his left cheek with a drip.

Haruyuki widened his eyes. The beautiful hair that swayed in his vision got mixed with the light of the room and blurred.

Unconsciously raising both his arms, Haruyuki also put his hands around her thing waist and squeezed out a trembling voice.

“I…I’m sorry for making you worry.”

At that instant—

“I was worried. I was so worried. Thinking that, if you were no longer here, what would I do…I was scared. I was so scared!”

Saying that as it turned into a shout halfway through, Kuroyukihime’s shoulders trembled slightly.

His throat blocked, Haruyuki didn’t say anything else. Therefore, he continued desperately praying inside his heart. ‘I’m right here. I’ll always be by your side. I definitely will not disappear.’

Kuroyukihime leaked out thin sobs like that for several dozens of seconds, but eventually she sucked in a big breath, and finally loosened her hug slightly.

“…I have to give you a prize.”

When she suddenly said that, Haruyuki blinked in surprise.

“Eh, a pri…?”

“You defended splendidly in the territory battles, didn’t you? Like I said, if you defend Suginami to the last, I’ll listen and give you one prize you ask for, no matter what it is.”

As she whispered such a thing into his ear, Haruyuki’s consciousness once again rushed into the red zone.

—However.

The insolent ideas of a Direct Connect with a 30-cm cable or a swimsuit photo of her were instantly swept away in his mind.

Being like this right here, right now.

Besides having this person here in this world right now, what more could he possibly wish for?

…I will become much, much stronger, and become a knight who can protect you from any enemies someday. So, please always remain by my side until then, watching over me and guiding me.

The instant he wished that, his mouth moved half-automatically.

“…Then, please stay by my side.”

With a feeling boiling up from inside his chest, Haruyuki spoke in a hoa.r.s.e voice.

“Please always, always stay by my side. That…is my only wish.”

Even once you graduate. As my senpai. As my legion master. And as my «Parent».

Haruyuki added those words in his mind—is what he intended, but.

The body of Kuroyukihime who had been loosely holding Haruyuki’s head intensely stiffened with a ‘BIKUUN’.

Suddenly releasing her hug, she back-dashed about two meters with a ‘SHUBAH’, collided with the sofa and fell down on it. Even though her face just been quite serious with tears, the person herself widened her eyes as if she had forgotten that, and flapped her mouth open and closed.

Eventually, she rapidly reddened from her neck to her forehead. Her voice, turned inside out, resounded in a high tone.

“W-W-Wha…W-W-What are you saying!!”

“Heh? Umm, eh…? I-I just, umm, meant nothing in particular.”

Not understanding the situation, he similarly opened and closed his mouth at high-speed, and after a full ten seconds pa.s.sed, Kuroyukihime’s face began to return to its original whiteness from top to bottom. While letting out an unbelievably long sigh, she shook her head left and right many times.

“……I understand.”

Suddenly, Kuroyukihime muttered that.

Standing up, she walked over to Haruyuki once again and placed her right hand on his head with a plop.

“I promise. I’ll stay by your side. Always. For eternity.”

While disheveling his hair, Kuroyukihime gave the highest grade smile, and said that.

References

↑ Referring to Haneda Airport.

↑ Sata andagi: deep-dried buns similar to doughnuts that are native to Okinawa

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