Unital Ring: The Mysterious New World

After-School Meeting

Joshua

At around three fifteen, school was finally over. Asuna and I had a short homeroom period, which finished quickly, but she decided to linger in class for a while longer. I bounce as soon as we're dismissed for the mechatronics lab.

The lab is usually inhabited by me, Kazuto, and two other guys as we're part of the school's mechatronics course. We formed a research team in the computer-less computer lab, but the others are going to Akihabara to look for parts. It's a perfect place to meet today, and I send Kazuto a quick text saying I'll be there to open the door. It took me about five minutes to get to the lab, and I expected to be the first one there.

So seeing Rika Shinozaki waiting outside surprised me. She glares at me as soon as she spots me and shouts, "You're late!"

I sigh and shake my head. "We had homeroom. You're early... Did you have homeroom?"

"Well, my homeroom teacher is away on an assignment, so I didn't have any homeroom. What else am I supposed to do?"

"You could have waited outside my classroom. We ran short, and the only reason Asuna isn't here is that it is early."

"...I did not consider that. I will next time."

Some things never change. Of all of us at school, I'm the eldest, followed by Rika, and she's my fifth longest friend after Momiji, Koharu, Kirito, and Asuna. She's probably the person I'm closest to out of all of them, if for no other reason than I lived with her for nine months in SAO after Koharu's avatar died, which resulted in us dating sometime after the escape. We broke up earlier this year, leading to months of awkwardness that finally resolved yesterday, not long before the craziness online happened.

"I love Koharu. She's important to me too, you know. But no matter how long it takes, no matter if I have to hammer Koharu to the ground myself... I will win in the end. I still love you. I still believe in you and me."

Yeah, I may have just lied. It's still a little awkward, and I'm wondering just how true to her word Rika is. Yes, there are still remnants of my love for her, they flare up at times like they almost did yesterday, but I'm doing my best to control them. In the meantime, I'm entrusting Rika not to do anything that would hurt Koharu.

That aside, we've easily fallen back into our old selves. I unlock the sliding door and hold it open for her. "Welcome inside, milady."

"Thanks, good sir." I follow Rika inside, watching her scan the room. It's not the best-looking room, given the place is somewhat old, but we try our best to keep it tidy. Of course, I'm used to the room, so anything that may bother her would have long gone unnoticed by me, yet she says nothing of the sort. "I really like the atmosphere here."

"Well, it's just a lab, nothing crazy."

"You're probably seen better labs, huh?"

She speaks of my family's company, RoboTelligence, which specializes in robotics and artificial intelligence. I have seen the robotics labs, and they're freaking amazing. Unfortunately, my area of interest is the AI division, bolstered by the recent acquisition of Rath (which we were helping out in the first place). The mechatronics course keeps me close to the company's original business, which started with my grandfather. "Yeah, but there's not much one can do with a school. Maybe in the future, this will be a proper lab."