Shot to the Heart

Heya! Quick character name reminder:
Rika = Lisbeth
Keiko = Silica
Suguha = Leafa
Shino = Sinon
Asuna = well, Asuna
Tsuboi = Klein
Andrew = Agil
Kazuto = Kirito

Alright I'll shut up now. Have a 3 weeks in the making 5 am oneshot.

    Summer in Japan was relentless. Temperatures could range from 84 degrees Fahrenheit to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Even sitting in Andrew’s bar, everyone was still moping around, groggy and sweaty from the heat beating down on them. If anyone dared to make a sudden movement, they risked setting the whole place on fire. Tsuboi was sitting on a barstool at the front counter with his chin resting on the table, nursing a now-melted iced beer and chatting idly with Andrew about a blacksmithing quest in ALO. Kazuto sat conversing with Shino and Suguha. Asuna was sitting noticeably quite far away from Kazuto with her back turned to him, talking to Keiko and Rika about school while sipping on an iced tea. As the crew was slow-cooked in their own skins, the conversation slowly quieted, until Rika sat up with a haughty sigh.

“Jeez you guys, it’s so hot in here; we can’t just keep sitting around and moping! Let’s do something!”

Everyone turned their head to look at Rika. Kazuto propped his head up on his elbow and gazed tiredly at Rika. “Well, got any bright ideas? The beach is closed down because some oil ship rolled over, and the nearest pool isn’t very near, to say the least.”

“Well,” Rika groaned, “there goes swimming. Anyone else?”

“Maybe… maybe we could just do something inside where there’s air conditioning,” Keiko chimed in.  

Tsuboi scratched his head, and added “well, since we’re all getting into GGO now, maybe we could try doing something like laser tag? I know a place with AC nearby the guys and I went to a while back if you guys are down…”

The room fell silent for a couple of seconds, and as Tsuboi began to sullenly dismiss his idea, the room slowly fell into a consensus. Andrew went into the back and alerted his wife of his departure, and within a couple of minutes, everyone sauntered to the nearest train station and headed off to another area of the city. On the train ride there, the mugginess of the air was laced with tension between Kazuto and Asuna. Picking up on this, Shino gently took Kazuto’s hand, who was standing, and gestured for him to follow her to another part of the train car.

“What’s with you and Asuna now? It seems like both of you wouldn’t hesitate to throw the other out of this train if you could.”

“I, we…” Kazuto sighed. “We broke up a little bit ago. We’re both still a little peeved.”

Shino raised an eyebrow at him.

“Okay fine, a lot peeved.”

“It wasn’t pretty, was it?”

Kazuto shook his head. “That’s the understatement of the century. It was a pretty heated fight. Things were said that aren’t meant for virgin ears,” Kazuto said as his voice began to waver.

Shino grimaced and decided that it was best not to pursue further.. “I’m sorry, Kazu. Well, if there’s anything I can do to help, I’m right here,” Shino ended, squeezing his hand, smiling, and returning to her spot with Kazuto trailing behind her. I know I should feel bad, but this is my chance! Shino felt her heart leap a little bit, then she facepalmed in frustration. What kind of a friend am I? I should be helping him, not trying to get into his pants! Shino shook her head and dismissed the thought, deciding to worry about it later. From across the aisle, Andrew watched as this internal exchange happened and chuckled to himself. Young love. So beautiful, yet it'll kill ya. The rest of the ride was filled with quiet, idle banter as the train came to a halt and everyone stepped outside into a wall of heat and descended into the catacombs of the train station.