15 Days in the Anime Realm

Burst Link With... SCARLET RAIN?!

"Senpai! Mou..."

Haruyuki Arita's voice was the first thing I heard when I arrived at Accel World.

"Onii-chan! Want a duel?!!! I will mince you into tiny little silver pieces!" Yuniko Kozuki screamed childishly. Well, she had a point. Being the Red King grants her the ability to do so.

"Oh? Why don't you duel me instead?" Kuroyukihime challenged. "Let's see who's better for Arita-kun!"

"Hey, no fair! I wanna duel too! Plus I can heal myself, so I'll definitely WIN!" Chiyuri Kurashima butted in.

"Oi, Chi-chan, don't forget me!" Takumu Mayuzumi called.

"Hey, who's that girl there?"

I felt my cheeks flush when all of them looked at me. Kyriun was busy looking around so he wasn't there for me to hold on. "Ha-hajimemashite..."

"I wanna duel her!!!!!" Yuniko declared.

"Umm... I don't have a Neuro Linker..."

"Huh? Stop kidding me..." Kuroyukihime said, walking towards me. She brushed my hair away and looked at my neck. "Of course you have one. Nobody doesn't. I mean, we're all in the futu- SHE DOESN'T HAVE ONE!" she hollered. She looked extremely out of character. Hime is the type who's so cool all the time so seeing her holler like this is kinda weird.

"I-I'm from the real world..."

"Oh my Burst Points! What real world?"

The question caught me off guard. Of course, she doesn't know it. She's an anime character after all. "Just... I'm not from here. Clear?"

"Oh..." She turned to Yuniko. "You can't duel her."

"I can. Onii-chan!" She pointed a finger at Haru. "Take that Neuro Linker off!!! As in right now!"

"Don't you think that it's too big for her?"

"Aww! Chiyu! Can this pretty girl from another world borrow your Neuro Linker? I'll make sure that your Burst points will get returned if she loses..."

"Okay!" Chiyu exclaimed. I knew she would fall for it. All Burst Linkers will do anything for Burst Points, especially when it's the Red Legion's King, Scarlet Rain/Yuniko Kozuki offering you some. It sounds like a nice bargain. She'll give ninety points for free, plus the other points that we'll use to accelerate.

I clipped the Neuro Linker on my neck and marveled at its holographic beauty. I tapped the Brain Burst icon and said, "Burst Link!"

I saw my reflection on one of the steel shards lying around. I was in the form of Lime Bell, Chiyu's Brain Burst avatar. Not bad. Just the color. Teehee.

I watched Scarlet Rain take form. I really idolize her avatar and its abilities. And the color, too.

"Okay!" Scarlet Rain said. "Let's get this party started!!!!" She raised an arm up. "Reinforced Exterior! Let's go!"

A huge red block came from behind her. It was her Immobile Fortress. Scary!

"Fire!"

"I don't ever want to duel her again..." I muttered. The game had ended nicely. I was able to destroy most of her Fortress with Lime Bell's huge crystal that resembles a bell, but I got defeated at the last minute when she fired her Heat Blast Saturation directly at me. Hey! Black Lotus almost died due to it, so I definitely got aced when it hit me!

"It was the GREATEST GAME EVER!" Then she silenced. "Hey, your boyfriend's gone."

"No he isn't." I held my head up. "He's walking around."

I found Kyriun walking alone the moment I left Accel World. "How's the surroundings?"

"Oh... they're nice. Had a good day?"

"Yeah. Any idea where to go?"

"Hmm..." He took the quill in his hand. There was a glow, then there were none.

"Welcome to Infinite Stratos."