Accel World:Volume SS1 Chapter 1
Chapter 1[edit]
“U……uhh……uhhh~~~~n…………”
While waggling his index finger right and left over the window opened in his virtual desktop, Haruyuki moaned.
The window was the console screen of the versus fighting game «Brain Burst». Even in a non-accelerating state, he could open it and could read and operate his duel avatar status, duel history, his Burst Point acquisition situation, and so forth.
What Haruyuki was gazing at was the «level up bonus» tab under his avatar status. Now, a good four choices were displayed in this screen, which had always been blank since he had become a Burst Linker. The reason was that last week, the points he possessed had reached 300 at last, and Silver Crow had become level 2.
On that occasion, there was also the turn of events where he had forgotten to keep a safety margin, where he had accidentally raised his level, and where his remaining points had decreased to a single digit, making him along with his teacher Takumu turn pale, but now that he had somehow succeeded in recovering his account balance, that too was a good memory. In spite of that, it was strange that his memory of the duels during the recovery process was vague, but at present there was a more difficult problem than that before him.
Although this time it called for a «scream of joy». At any rate, on the bonus screen before his eyes, the exceedingly extravagant menu consisting of four options of two new special techniques, one new ability, and fortification of his existing abilities was glittering brilliantly.
“Ooohh……maybe I’ll go with a special technique after all…but it’s hard to discard the new ability too…even if I go with a special technique, I wonder which one’s stronger……”
His finger only moved above the three buttons in random order; he did not come to push one of them at all. Though it was also the fault of Haruyuki’s ability of indecisiveness that had been drilled into him in the flesh, the problem was the fact that he could not save & load whatsoever in the game of Brain Burst. As a principle, the trick of choosing one of them, loading if he didn’t like it, and doing things over again could not be used. Basically, it was a complete one-shot gamble.
“…………M, mmnnhh–……in this case, rather why don’t I leave it to chance without looking at the buttons……”
He pointed only his gaze upward, peeled his eyes from the window, firmly pulled his finger back, resolved himself, and thrust it out—or only pretended to do so, then muttered, “Just kidding.”
Deciding to defer his selection this time as well, with a sigh Haruyuki tried to lower his hand with a flop.
—However, right before he did so.
“Ya, sorry to have kept you waiting, boy! The checkup was dragging on.”
As that voice had resounded right behind him and his back had been rapped somewhat forcefully at the same time, Haruyuki caused his whole body to tremble with a twitch. From the recoil, his right hand nearly touched the window on his virtual desktop,
“Wa, waaaah!?”
While letting out that scream, with all his might he threw his arm up. Although he had fortunately avoided a second tragedy due to careless operation, for some reason he heard a strange “hiu” voice from behind. He tried to return his right hand, which was in a greatly raised pose, to where it was, but his fingertips were caught on something.
What Haruyuki, who had turned around fearfully, saw were—.
Kuroyukihime, who was clad in a cardigan and thick shawl above her pajamas, and his own fingers, which had intruded into the interior of those pajamas at their divider.
“Ah, mo, it was a nistake!!”
While emitting a shouting voice of incomprehensible meaning, Haruyuki pulled his right hand out with all his force. In doing so, the second button, which was stuck, came off, and the fabric was gently exposed to the left and right.
Four weeks had passed since Kuroyukihime, who was the student council vice president of Umesato Middle School, Haruyuki’s «parent», and then also the master of «Nega Nebulas», the legion that had once been extinguished, had been admitted into this hospital fairly close to Asagaya Station.
Immediately after the accident, even her life had hanged in the balance, but due to MM[1] therapy, a medical technology that had developed rapidly these past few years, and also probably due to her own strength of will, she had returned alive from the abyss of death. Her recovery since leaving the HCU was remarkable; appearance-wise, a cast remained only on her left leg, whose calf had been fractured, and it seemed that she already had prospects for being discharged.
That was of course a very joyous thing, but for Haruyuki, who had continued to visit Kuroyukihime every day on the way back from school, there was also just a little bit of loneliness. If she returned to Umesato Middle, Kuroyukihime would return to being the revered vice president who was the object of yearning of all the school’s students, and perhaps her time to mind Haruyuki would also be gone…………
“……Recently, I’ve become more and more able to read what you’re thinking about.”
In conjunction with that voice, his left cheek was suddenly pulled with a stretch. As he hurriedly turned his face, which was prone to looking down, the beautiful visage of Kuroyukihime, who slightly looked displeased, was at his immediate side.
“I, I wahn’t rearry thinking about anything weird……”
“Just to let you know, after I’ve been discharged I plan to drill you all-out without holding back. Your goal is getting to level 3……no, 4 today.”
“Eh, ehh—!?”
Separating her fingers from the cheek of Haruyuki, who was shuddering with the exact opposite meaning of just a moment ago, Kuroyukihime softened her facial expression and turned about in front of him.
“……Though well, I too will slightly miss our time together……”
The contrast of the scarlet of the sun tinging the side of her face and her glossy black hair was too dazzling; after Haruyuki unconsciously blinked, he pointed his gaze forward.
The two of them were currently sitting side by side on a bench installed on the south side of the hospital’s roof and were gazing at the townscape, which reached from Asagaya to Koenji. A central line overpass crossed their immediate vicinity left and right, and slightly ahead of that was already Ome Highway. Perhaps by chance, this bench pointed straight in the direction of Umesato Middle, and if he strained his eyes he could visually recognize the shine of the cluster of solar panels on the school building roof in the distance.
Shopping districts and residential areas remaining from last century and cutting-edge intelligent buildings were mixed in this area of Suginami, but right now everything was stained in a copper color; it was so beautiful he even wanted to dub it the «Sunset» stage.
Today, it had been sunny all day, but now that it had become late autumn the evening breeze was slightly chilly; Kuroyukihime adjusted the collar of her pajamas on which Haruyuki had committed an insolent deed not long ago. Pushing the whiteness of her bare skin that he was inevitably beginning to recall to the back of his mind, Haruyuki spoke.
“Um, maybe it’s about time we returned back inside……”
“No, I’m fine, thank you. At any rate it’ll be time for dinner in about two more minutes……until then, I’d like to stay here.”
“Bu, but, it’s become chilly……”
“Mm……is that so; then, give me a little bit of cold-resistant buff, would you.”
Smiling broadly, Kuroyukihime shifted her body about ten centimeters to the right side. Her slender body inevitably touched, no, stuck close to Haruyuki’s left side, and sure enough the cold went away.
“Mmh, with this we’re set. ……You’re warm, aren’t you.”
“Uh, um, well, I have faith in my calorific value……”
It was a masochistic gag of Haruyuki from head to toe, but without laughing Kuroyukihime said only “Fool” in moving only her lips. Following that, while sidling her body even closer up to him, she whispered.
“I’m not talking about your physical warmth but your mental warmth. How do I put it……it makes me feel relieved. It’s natural too that when it’s about you, Kurashima-kun tends to oppose me……”
Regrettably, Haruyuki was not really able to understand what those words meant; while supporting Kuroyukihime’s slight weight, he tilted his head quizzically.
“Eh……Chiyu, I mean, Kurashima only thinks of me as a personally exclusive underling……”
“Fufu, well, someday they’ll become clear, various things will.”
This time, Kuroyukihime smiled and raised a finger on her right hand as if having remembered something.
“That’s right, when you were waiting here at first, what on earth were you looking at? You seemed awfully deep in thought.”
“Ah……um, it was the Brain Burst console.”
“Ho? ……Ahh, no, I’ve understood. There’s only one thing that would vex you that much right now. —Frankly, it was the level up bonus, right.”
She easily guessed right; Haruyuki made his eyes round.
“Co, correct. But, how did you know?”
“It’s bound to be that. The me of the past was worried in the same way……in fact, it’s a path all Burst Linkers pass through.”
Kuroyukihime, who had answered like that while still smiling, wore a slightly dubious expression on her face at that point and continued.
“However, to be sure, haven’t several days already passed since you’ve become level 2? In that time, were you fighting without having taken a bonus?”
“Eh, ehh well……I guess……”
While twiddling his two index fingers together, Haruyuki nodded, and a hue that was a mix of surprise and amazement rose to the face at his immediate left.
“Whether that’s prudence or perseverance……true enough, these past few days I’ve been hustling and bustling about with checkups, checkups, and I’ve hardly been able to take it easy with you as my companion either, but someone like Takumu-kun for example would give suitable advice……”
“A, about that……when I slightly mentioned the topic of the level up bonus before, that guy Takumu, his eyes became round, and he said something like, ‘I got carried away and acquired nothing but special techniques, so I don’t think I’d be a good reference……,’ so……”
“……………………Is, is that so. Sorry.”
Apologizing to Takumu, who was not there, with a delicate expression, Kuroyukihime agilely placed her left leg, which was fixed in place by a lightweight thin-type cast, on top of her right leg. Facing his «parent», who was silent in that state and looking up at the twilight sky that was in the middle of sinking into a purple color from the east, Haruyuki spoke in a small voice.
“Senpai, um……if I’m alone, then no matter how much I think I believe I can’t decide anymore; rather, could I have you decide it for me, Senpai? About which bonus to take……”
“……Right now, I too was thinking whether we should do that or not.”
Kuroyukihime murmured that, returned her gaze from the sky to Haruyuki, and continued with a serious look on her face.
“I also understand that it’s difficult for you to decide alone. Among the «parent» Burst Linkers, there are also no few numbers of people who decide the direction of growth of their «children». The reason is that the parent has knowledge and experience the child does not; I too think that that might be the correct answer. However……”
There, she temporarily closed her mouth, and Kuroyukihime wrapped half of the black shawl she was wearing that seemed to be made of natural wool around Haruyuki’s shoulder. Contrary to that enshrouding-like gesture, a resolute light came up in her pupils.
“……What I’m saying may seem harsh, but what produced your duel avatar, Silver Crow, was your own heart, Haruyuki-kun. If so, should the direction in which those wings flutter not also be decided by you……”
“…………Yes.”
Haruyuki nodded meekly. Putting aside advice on how to fight, he had noticed that relying on Kuroyukihime for even selecting his level up bonus, which could not be redone, was simply an act of just pushing his responsibility on her. If he were unable to make his own decision here, then at that time……at the time when Kuroyukihime had sent him the Brain Burst program in the lounge of Umesato Middle, Haruyuki should not have pushed the yes button.
“Understood, Senpai. The next time I go to the Accelerated World, I’ll ask that guy……I’ll ask Silver Crow. If I properly ask him, I have the feeling he’ll answer me.”
“Mm, a good reply.”
Kuroyukihime smiled widely, and with her right hand, which was holding the edge of the shawl, she tightly drew Haruyuki close to her. Belatedly, he realized the situation he was placed in, and his heart’s palpitation accelerated three times greater in one go. Information such as a sweet fragrance and a lovely tenderness poured into the five senses of Haruyuki, who had single-handedly become rigid into a Burst Link state, and surpassed the limits of his processing ability; his consciousness receded…………
“However, with only that, as a parent it’s somewhat pitiful.”
Her lips, which were so close that they nearly touched his left ear, whispered those words, and Haruyuki somehow yanked his consciousness back into the real world.
“Instead of advice, I’ll tell you my own experience.”
“Se……npai, your, own……”
After murmuring that blankly, Haruyuki’s ability to think finally recovered to about fifty percent.
That was right—. Now that he deeply considered it, there must have been a time when Kuroyukihime…the level 9 «Black King» whose name was renowned in the Accelerated World, Black Lotus, was also a novice.
“Is that……something that, your «parent» taught you……Senpai?”
“No……it is not so. In that area, my «parent» completely followed a policy of laissez-faire…… Anyhow, it was such to the point where that person didn’t even induct me into their legion.”
“Eh……then, did you become that strong by yourself, Senpai……?”
“Nay to that, too. Except for the very beginning and…and then the end, my «parent» hardly tried to interfere with me, but however there was a Burst Linker whom I too could call «Master». With that person’s way of doing things, I also try to convey to you what I can.”
“Way of doing things……”
After muttering in parroting her words, Haruyuki’s body stiffened with a meaning different from that of a little earlier. The reason was that his intuition, which was not particularly sharp, for some reason informed him of danger.
However, wholly as if she were anticipating that reaction from Haruyuki, Kuroyukihime put power into her hand placed on his right shoulder. While securely holding Haruyuki’s body, she inserted one end of a black XSB cable that she had taken out from somewhere into her own Neuro Linker.
“Eh, um, by ‘way of doing things,’ you mean……”
“Talking with our fists, no, «talking with our swords». That is the way my master did things.”
Grinning widely, Kuroyukihime also stuck the plug of one end straight into Haruyuki’s Neuro Linker. Before the wired connection warning flashing in his field of vision disappeared, her glossy lips whispered the last word.
“Burst Link.”
References
- ↑ Micromachine.
