SAO drabbles ~

Sharing our ghosts | Kirito x Asuna

All that was separating her from him was a door. All she had to do was open it, but that was easier said than done. If she had it her way she would rush into the room, hold him in her arms and never let him go, the door wouldn't even matter to her. For some reason, her feet remained frozen at the back of the bedroom door.

She could hear small sobs of pain that broke her heart as she knew those sobs were coming from the boy that she loved most. The door remained her only obstacle between her and her boyfriend. Her heart wanted to give him comfort yet at the same time, it also knew to give him space.

On the other side of the door, was a stressed out and confused messy haired boy. He couldn't stop himself from squeezing his eyes shut and crouching his knees up to his face as the world froze and echoed around him. Every time he opened his eyes, he could see his close departed friend standing in the corner of his room, with no expression on his face.

What was worse than seeing Eugeo every time Kazuto opened his eyes? How about reliving the exact moment that Kazuto's friend died in his arms. Being haunted by his friend's ghost was something Kazuto decided to deal with on his own.

Kazuto often asked himself if the hallucination was actually real or it was manifested by the hurt and guilt of not being to save his dear friend in time. At first, Kazuto tried to ignore what he was seeing but as he continued to carry on with his life as normal, he could sometimes hear whispers and decided to take medications for it, without informing his family of the issue. They found out once at a family dinner when suddenly Kazuto fainted from picturing Eugeo dying in front of screaming for Eugeo to take his hand.

As Asuna remained behind the door, her hand frozen on the doorknob. If she just opens it, one turn and Kazuto would be in her arms. That's all she wanted and knew that's all he needed to calm him down. What Kazuto did not know was that his girlfriend was more than aware of him not coping with his late friend's death even after a year of him being dead.

Asuna once overheard Kazuto's little sister Suguha talk about the matter with her mother and from that moment always did her best to not only comfort Kazuto to make sure he's not going to faint and also kept track of his medications secretly by an application that also tracks his heart rate on her phone.

She couldn't be too careful, could she?

She promised herself she would wait for Kazuto to tell her about his hallucinations in his own time, which he never has. Asuna worked out that Kazuto was protecting her from the truth, not wanting her to worry and bother her with the issue since Asuna also went through hell with him.

He really did love her so much.

Without thinking, Asuna bursts into the room as soon as she hears a thump. Kazuto Kirigaya laid in a crouched position on the floor, quietly sobbing to himself, muttering Eugeo's name under his breath followed by repeating "I'm sorry..."

"Kirito!"

Rushing into the room and instantly kneeling towards Kazuto, Asuna helps him to sit upright while holding his shoulders in concern with teary eyes. Noticing how pale he was getting, Asuna held his face in her hands.

"K-Kirito, what happened?!"

"A-Asuna..."

Seeing Kazuto in this state was something Asuna has never experienced before, sure she's seen him at what she thought to be his worst state but this was different. Kazuto wasn't just as pale as snow in her arms, he was sweating, disorientated and hyperventilating.

Asuna wastes no time in helping him to get back onto his bed, once he's safely up, she finds his medication box by his bedside table with a glass of water next to it. As Asuna places the medicine in Kazuto's hands, Kazuto looks up at her with an expression of pain and guilt.