Sword Art Online: Faithful Hymn

Chapter 20: Love and Amity

"Alright, finally done!" shouts Yuna from the bathroom. Since the girl is not yet familiar with the principles of the shower, it took her quite some time to was herself, as well as drying up with a towel. But the long wait was not in vain, because Yuna finally arrived in Shoji's bedroom. She was not yet dressed up though. The only thing that she was wearing, was a crimson red towel, wrapped around her body. In combination with her red eyes, the towel suited her excellent. Since Shoji got caught by surprise, he needed a moment to realize what he was really seeing. He indeed saw a beautiful, 172 cm long white-haired girl stand in front of her with just a towel wrapped around her body. The towel that was tightened around her chest could greatly reveal the cleavage in between her breasts, with Shoji not being able to resist her beautiful sight. Realizing that her head is not located on her body but rather on top of it, he looks up, looking in Yuna's eyes with an open mouth.

"Hey Yuna! Say... why don't you have your clothing on?" Since Shoji does not see anyone else wear a towel after using the shower, he greatly wonders what Yuna's reason for it is. Also, how would Yuna know of this method of dressing after a shower? Was this something that was developed from the start, or did she do her own improvising?

"Well, if I would immediately put on my clothing, it would just get wet again due to my hair still being wet." responds Yuna with slight confusion in her head. "Why, are people not supposed to do that?" With doubt in Shoji's mind, he responds what seems usual to him.

"I don't really know if people do that. If it suits you, you should definitely keep doing that, although I never really wear a towel after a shower." says Shoji to her. Yuna's who is rolling her eyes, sits on Shoji's bed while she looks at her fingers that she just styled with nail polish.

"But of course you don't do that silly, you got no long hair! There's no need for you to do that!" tells Yuna to her friend with a voice that is trying to hold in its laughter. Even though it's not unknown to Shoji, it still amazes him that Yuna has an incredible amount of base knowledge about a lot of different things. For example, who would have thought Yuna figured out what the camera could be used for while she was toying around with Shoji's phone during basketball training? Shoji then gets up from his desk chair and places himself next to Yuna, who still sits on Shoji's bed.

"Shoji..? I have to tell you something that has been troubling me ever since we got back from mister Tetsuhiro." says Yuna to the boy with a sad tone attached to it. Shoji already had the feeling that something was up ever since she got back from Tetsuhiro, but she refrained herself from saying anything up until now. "I already thought something was going on. What is it Yuna?"

"It is something that might rig our future..." says Yuna before she abruptly stops herself from saying anything else. Now that Shoji is absolutely sure that something bothers the girl, he starts to think that Tetsuhiro has said something to her that really got to her. It would be very ungrateful of Shoji to get mad at Tetsuhiro after he granted the boy an opportunity to find happiness in life again, although it is Shoji's heart that tells him that it's only right to get mad at him. Before he even knows it is Tetsuhiro's fault, he already is mad at him for the possibility of making Yuna sad.

"Don't worry Yuna, there won't be a wall between us. Come, you can tell me what Tetsuhiro said." said Shoji in a comforting and calm tone. Yuna, who looks at him out of surprise. "Tetsuhiro..? Did you know that he said something to me that makes me upset?" Yuna asks with a wondering voice. "No, but I noticed you felt different ever since we got back from him. That's why I assumed beforehand that he may have been the reason." tells the lad to the white-haired beauty, who still is wearing her crimson towel. The girl reveals a blush on her face, without letting the boy having a clue what the blush is for.

"You know, you are really smart Shoji. I'm so happy that out of all the people in the world, you're the one I got to meet." says Yuna softly, sounding a little bit timid even. Without having anything to say in return for the moment, the only response that Shoji could give is a blush on his face. Yuna noticed this, and feels grateful for it.

"To be honest, if I hadn't met you, I might've had stopped from finding happiness in life already. I would not know at all where I would have been at all. Even though it's only a month where I could taste a shiver of hope, I now have no idea how much longer I could take the suffering and pain I was going through." Yuna sits speechless, not having any idea what the appropriate response would be. For a slight moment there was silence, until Yuna grasped for Shoji's hand, moving his head closer to his.

"And that's why you are here right now, together with me. It's because you are strong Shoji, stronger than any normal person. You have survived Sword Art Online, you have endured the pain you received ever since you lost your precious friend, you have carried the guilt you felt ever since SAO on your shoulders and you managed to reach out to Tetsuhiro to create me, knowing that this step would hurt as hell. You are a precious boy Shoji, and I would not have wanted to meet anyone else besides you." says Yuna with the mouthful she just delivered.

Yuna moves her head even closer to Shoji's eventually letting her lips reach his lips. The diva gave him a short, but way too satisfying kiss to describe in just a few lines. She then withdraws her beautiful face from his, showing a confident and adorable face. Shoji still has to process what he just received from his best friend.

"I... don't know what to say Yuna.."

"Hahah, take it as a token of appreciation for always making me smile!"

After both teenagers have expressed their feelings, Yuna gets back on track regarding what she was talking about in the first place.

"But yeah, I am still a tad sad because... Tetsuhiro told me that he wanted to make a full-fledged singer out of me. Full-time.." says Yuna with a sad tone to it.

A full-time singer. That fully explains why Yuna was able to impress everyone, even herself yesterday at school. People around Shoji even said that she has the voice of an angel, surpassing various famous singers that they adore. If Tetsuhiro really is willing to make Yuna a full-time singer, then that indeed will mean that the two of them won't be able to be together forever...

"Don't worry. Like I said, there exist no walls between us. We don't know exactly what our future will behold, but it will surely remain beautiful!" says Shoji, sounding self-centered.

"Yeah, you're right. Also, I don't want to sing in front of crowds! My only wish is to keep singing, in front of you Shoji.." says Yuna in a passionate way. Shoji, who still has her hand on Yuna's hand, strengthens his grip on hers, revealing a smile on his face.

"Hey, that reminds me. Do you remember telling me that you would maybe sing just for me someday, before we went to sleep? asks Shoji his beautiful girl.

"Wait, you remembered that?!" asks Yuna quite shockingly. It appears that the diva thought Shoji forgot about it already, but apparently not.

"I don't forget our precious moments together." tells Shoji with a lovely tone whilst moving his hand around Yuna's. With a pleased face, Yuna stands up from Shoji's bed, still holding onto her towel. He actually had the small assumption that she would let go of her towel just to tease Shoji, but of course that would have been too far-fetched of her to do. She stand in the middle of his room, releasing her grip onto her towel, letting it fall onto the ground. Shoji has his mouth wide open, which Yuna could not see due to her looking the other way. The only sight that Shoji now has, are Yuna's beautiful legs, her thin back with shoulder blades being easily visible, and of course the thing that caught Shoji's first attention.

"I did not expect her to have such a... butt.." thinks Shoji in himself.

Yuna then uses her fingers to swipe and tap in front of her, using a menu that is not visible to Shoji, but only for herself. She then equips her usual attire, which would greatly suit a vocalist like Yuna. After she is done changing her attire, she turns around and confidently says:

"Ready."