(There's no doubt that Hachiman over there is someone else... The real question is whether the character themselves is the genuine article...)
With these thoughts swirling in his head, Kirito stood on the precipice of his long-awaited BoB debut match.
(From what I've heard, there's no question that Hachiman is tied to Shana... But the real issue is whether this Hachiman and Shana actually know each other... If I had to pick someone among my acquaintances, Tobe feels like the closest personality match, but...)
"Oh, so you finally noticed? I mean, Kirito-kun is totally Kirito-san, right~?"
Kirito visualized Shana talking like that, shuddered, and shook his head frantically.
(No, no, no... absolutely no way.)
At this point, Kirito honestly didn't believe that the Hachiman in front of him was just the ALO Hachiman converted over to GGO.
(If Hachiman had noticed that I quietly converted and decided to follow suit, I'm dead certain he would have made contact with me by now...)
Not even Kirito could have possibly imagined that Hachiman was already playing GGO on a completely new character.
Still lost in thought, Kirito reflexively began scanning for enemy presence. The first round of the preliminary matches had already begun a long time ago.
(Is the enemy over there? They're still far off... Sigh. Even if he's avoiding me on purpose, knowing Hachiman, he's definitely keeping eyes on me... Probably plotting revenge for me jumping the gun...)
Kirito shuddered at the thought. In that very instant, his body acted on instinct, swinging his blade at a red line painted across his face. He felt something slice cleanly in two right in front of his eyes, but paying it little mind, he executed his usual Vorpal Strike against the opponent.
"N-No way..."
A voice gasped, and Kirito immediately began scanning for the next target. In that exact moment, he was teleported back to the waiting area.
"H-Huh? Wait, what was I just doing...?"
Kirito muttered, looking entirely bewildered. It seemed he had unconsciously defaulted to his combat instincts from ALO, where he routinely took on multiple enemies at once.
Before he could process it, he was swarmed by the players standing nearby.
"H-Hey, hold on a second! What was that?!" "Huh? Wait, wasn't I about to fight my first preliminary match?" "What are you talking about?! That just finished a second ago!" "...Huh?"
Hearing that, Kirito finally recalled fighting someone just now. Realizing he had been fighting on complete autopilot while obsessing over Hachiman, a cold sweat broke out on his back as he breathed a sigh of relief for not dying.
"Sorry... I was deep in thought, so I honestly don't remember a thing..." "S-So everything you just did was pure instinct?!" "Y-Yeah. I don't remember what I did, but pretty much."
A stunned silence fell over the crowd surrounding him.
"Uh, what's with the quiet...?" "Isn't it obvious?! You sliced through every single bullet that guy shot at you with a sword!" "I cut bullets? No, come on, there's no way... Ah."
Hearing her words, Kirito remembered cutting through a red beam. Thinking back, that must have been a Bullet Line. Which meant... yeah, that's what happened.
"Ahhh... Yeah, I might have cut 'em." "And what about obliterating the guy in a single hit with a crazy powerful thrust right after?" "Ahhh, that I kinda remember." "'Kinda' is all you've got?!" "I can't help it! I was thinking about something!" "A normal person doing that should've been wiped out in a split second..."
The four words "Warrior Race" instantly flashed through the minds of everyone gathered around. In a single moment, their evaluation of Kirito upgraded from "a pretty boy beginner" to "a high-threat target to watch out for."
"M-More importantly, that sword! Hey, Kirito-kun, where did you get that?" "Hey, Pitohui, do you know something about that sword?" "Well, since it's just our inner circle here, I guess it's fine to say... Isn't that the Photon Sword Shana had? The Kagemitsu G4? Though its original color was supposed to be a purplish-white." "Eh? I mean, the name of this sword is Kagemitsu G4 Elucidator, but..."
Kirito spoke up in surprise, causing the surrounding crowd to erupt into screams.
"Shana again?!" "Shana-sama..." "Hey, hey, what is Shana pulling this time?" "Where did Shana even go in the first place?"
Realizing that Shana was secretly pulling the strings behind this BoB tournament, the group came to an unspoken agreement: if they made it to the finals, they were all going to gang up and beat the hell out of Shana.
Sinon and Musketeer X, who knew a good portion of the truth, played dumb. Kirito, however, frantically confronted Sinon.
"Hey, Sinon, is it true that this is Shana's sword...?" "Yeah. Honestly, when I saw it in the shop, I was shocked too. I never imagined Shana would pass it to you." "Damn it... and here I was really liking this thing..." "Shana probably made them change the blade color and the name too—Ah, crap!"
Sinon cut herself off, hurriedly clapping a hand over her mouth.
"Shana made them change it...? Hey, don't tell me..."
In that split second, Sinon shouted on pure instinct:
"Pito, X, Yamikaze-san, Tarako-san! State of emergency! Emergency evacuation!" "Not sure what's happening, but let's go!" "Understood." "Tarako, take Kirito's left arm!" "Got it! You take the right!"
Sensing the gravity of the situation from Sinon's panic, the four jumped into action without question. Grabbing Kirito just as instructed, all six of them bolted into a private room.
The players left behind stared in blank amazement, but as luck would have it, their respective match times were approaching, so the incident was left unresolved.
"W-What's the big idea all of a sudden?!" Kirito protested to Sinon the moment they slammed the door shut.
"It looked like you were about to figure it out, so it was an emergency evacuation." "Figure it out... Wait, so it's really true?!" "I tagged along for the ride, but I'm still a bit lost on the situation." "Still, looking at the crew gathered here, you can kind of piece it together, can't you?" Yamikaze replied to Pitohui's remark.
"Yeah, just like Yamikaze-san said, I only gathered people here who we can speak totally frankly with." "Frankly? Ah, I get it!"
There was, however, one person who didn't get it at all: Kirito.
"Uh, so what does that mean?" "Looks like introductions are in order."
And so, the five began introducing themselves one by one.
"I'm Yamikaze. Currently working part-time at Soleil! Hachiman and I are drinking buddies who hang out a lot!" "Wait, for real?! When the hell did he make drinking buddies?! I never got invited!"
That final outburst succinctly summarized Kirito's true feelings.
"Usushio Tarako. Currently working part-time at Soleil, and likewise one of Hachiman's drinking buddies." "...By any chance, do you know a player named Hokkai Ikura back in SAO?" "Ah~... Probably a distant relative. Only heard rumors, though." "Seriously...? Small world... Wait, another drinking buddy?! Why haven't I been invited?!"
Kirito repeated himself, clearly feeling deeply left out.
"Musketeer X. It has been officially decided that I will become Hachiman-sama's exclusive secretary. By the way, I am still a student, and I am Yukino's classmate." "Whoa, really? You must be super smart..." "(Blush)"
Musketeer X literally voiced the word "blush" out loud, pressing both hands to her cheeks.
"Uh... is that your way of showing you're embarrassed?" "(Fidgets)"
Watching Musketeer X voice her actions out loud again, Kirito remarked with admiration, "Whoa, you are exactly the kind of character Hachiman would fall for..." "Wait, really?! YES! Max victory!"
Kirito's eyes went wide at Musketeer X's instant personality shift. The rest of the group, already used to her occasional outbursts, simply gave a here she goes again look.
"I'm Sinon. My relationship with Hachiman is... well, um, err..." "Ah, okay, stop right there. I've seen plenty of people act like that when Hachiman comes up..."
Seeing Sinon fidgeting with a bright red face, Kirito read between the lines and spared her the rest.
"I am Pitohui! And my true identity is... Ka—" "Halt recommended." "H-Hey!"
Musketeer X and Sinon hurriedly cut off Pitohui as she tried to casually drop a bombshell. But Pitohui brushed them off with a confident nod.
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