SAO (FanFictions)

Birthday Gifts

Rika smiled mischievously as she knocked three times on the crisply painted door of Asuna's extravagant estate. At first it was slightly tiresome trying to find her best friend a decent birthday gift. After all, Asuna already owned pretty much anything a girl could ever want; two loving parents, a castle to call her home, looks made to kill, and an abundance of any material item she could ever want.

Oh, and she had a pretty awesome best friend, too. Rika thought proudly.

Rika used to tease Asuna and call her a princess but soon learned that the girl didn't appreciate that nickname in the slightest. She didn't like it when people called her a princess because to her, it implied that they looked down on her. It implied that they thought she was incapable of holding her own simply because she was born into a wealthy household. After all, what were princesses really known for? Going out into the world and being independent? Or waiting around for princes to sweep in on white horses and offer sweet, meaningless words?

Clearly, it was the latter. And Asuna has dealt with enough "princes" set up by her mother to last her a lifetime.

Money meant little to Asuna, but that was probably because she's never lived without it. Rika thought absently.

Rika herself had come from a barely middle class home and she only ever had what she needed, nothing more. No material items in excess, no princes and no magical happily-ever-afters. She was as grounded as the earth. Not to say that Asuna had it particularly easy... the last prince she was set up with tried to trap her in a game.

But of course the most special thing that Asuna owned- and perhaps the only thing that Rika wished was hers instead- was the heart of a very special boy called Kirigaya Kazuto. The same dark haired boy who had brought warmth into Rika's heart for the first time in her life before ultimately leaving it to freeze and to die.

Well, perhaps that was an exaggeration on her part. Rika had no one to blame for the fact that her best friend met Kazuto first, and so technically she had dibs. Still, the first cut was in fact the deepest and her heart ached for a very long time.

In any case, the three of them were on good terms now and Rika has learned to accept that although her feelings for Kazuto may never fully diminish, his love for Asuna was unconditional and irrevocable- something that was unlikely to ever change. Not to mention that Asuna-san was her best friend and she wouldn't allow unrequited feelings to ever come between them.

Rika glanced at her watch and frowned slightly. Asuna was taking longer than usual.

Ah, well. At least she had made sure that she prepared a useful gift for her best friend. And also, of course, a gift that would truly signify her best friend's first step into adulthood.

Rika exhaled a small sigh before imagining Asuna's reaction to her gift and cackling evilly on the inside.

"Ah, Rika-san! Sorry for taking so long, I-" Asuna stopped mid-sentence when she saw her best friend laughing devilishly with her eyes closed. "R-Rika-san, are you okay?"

Rika snapped out of her reverie and turned to her best friend who was blinking wordlessly as if to try and register the situation.

"Ohayo, Asuna-san!" with a big smile and a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, Rika stepped past Asuna and into the grand hall of her home. Asuna smelled something fishy but shrugged dismissively. Her best friend Rika-san then pulled her into a tight bear hug and squealed with excitement.

"Happy birthday, girl!" Asuna laughed and thanked her. "You are officially a woman." Rika pushed back from the hug and held Asuna's shoulders, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. "They grow up so fast." she said dramatically, which earned her a giggle and a light swat from her best friend.