Time Of Our Lives; Kirisuna

Chapter 70: The Calm Before The Storm

Kirito POV:

It's been a week since Satoru's demise and the student council's situation has gradually improved since then. 

While I wasn't directly involved during that time, I heard the details from Asuna and the others present. Judging from the state of the other student representatives, they took his betrayal pretty hard.

I bit into my sandwich as I discussed that day's events with Asuna and Argo, who recently recovered and was eager to hear about it.

"Wait. If that's what happened then you didn't need his villain backstory to get rid of him, right?" Argo pointed her chopsticks at me.

What villain backstory? I wanted to say but decided against it.

"That's true, but we needed to do more than just get rid of him." I said.

She snapped her fingers, "You're planning on throwing him in juvie!"

"Not just that, but prison. It'd be pointless if he got out in just a few years and nothing changed."

"But his family's murder case was never solved. It's only rumored that he killed his family. How do you plan on throwing him in jail if you don't have proof?"

"I've got my people working on it. I'll also help out if need be."

She nodded sagely as she stabbed her chopsticks into her pork and popped the meat into her mouth.

I shot a quick glance at Asuna, who listened to us as she silently enjoyed her meal. I could just guess what went through her head.

"I'm sorry things turned out the way they did." I set down my sandwich.

She made eye contact but looked away just as quickly and didn't respond.

"Is everything going well, A-chan? The council must be in shambles, right?" Argo said.

I smacked her back with the palm of my hand. Honestly, how could she say things like that right now?

Though, Asuna did respond by shaking her head from left to right.

"Things are surprisingly going well. With the exception of Minoru, everyone's back on their feet. It's just..." She raised her head, "I'm questioning whether or not I'm fit as a leader. I feel like I could've handled things better back then but didn't."

She had a point. Though, since Satoru was her opponent, it wouldn't have been easy. From what apparently happened, he had steered the first half of the discussion and put the blame on her.

If she had prevented him from doing so, the fallout may not have been as bad as it was and things may have been resolved more smoothly.

"I understand how you feel. But think about it this way, I almost lost against Kenji Kamura a few days before that. If it wasn't for your brother, I would've lost." I placed a hand on her back, "The fact that you beat Satoru despite the odds is already great!"

She smiled slightly and nodded absorbing my words.

I spoke honestly when I said she did great. In addition, knowing she could've done better was a big step for her as a leader. I expected this to be a great learning experience for her.

"Speaking of Minoru, how is he?" I asked, changing the topic.

"He's doing better than the first few days after the meeting. Yuuki's with him so I'm sure he'll be fine."

Yuuki's with him? When did they get so close?

I thought it was unusual, but he needed support and she was definitely the best person for the job.