When Our Blades Cross (A Sword Art Online Story)

Celebration

"Hey Chris, I'm heading back out!" Gosen shouts, opening the front door causing the warm air from the outside to force its way inside. Despite this, Gosen still had his typical outfit on, sweatshirt, jeans, and a scarf; he'd donned it immediately after school. He knew he didn't have much time--he was supposed to be meeting everyone at Dicey Café.

"Got it! Don't be gone too long, okay?" Shouted his brother from the living room.

"I won't! I gotta get home for the after-party anyway..." Gosen rushed outside, hopping onto his bike that he'd gotten, Agil's shop wasn't too far from his own house, so he could get there by a short bike-ride. Kicking the kickstand up, the boy pushed off on the pedals, the rush of wind feeling nice against his body. It felt almost like it did during his short time of flying in ALO, but even then the Amusphere couldn't reproduce a feeling like that perfectly.

Soon enough he had arrived to a door with a label saying 'Closed For Private Party'. "So... Everyone is going to be here, in real life?" Don't get anxiety about it now--you've already met some of them... Giving a deep sigh, he opens the door to find that few people had already arrived. There were only three people: Agil, Lisbeth, and Silica.

"Welcome," Agil said, nodding slightly, "Gosen, I presume? You look just like you did in SAO. Except maybe a little smaller..."

I'll choose to ignore that remark... "Yep, that's me..." Gosen rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "T-the same Gosen who fought on the front lines for a while in SAO..." He said, looking around the small shop. It didn't feel anything like the blacksmiths shops he had grown accustomed to. "Am I here early or something? Even though I stopped to change my clothes..."

"Why did it matter for you to change your clothes anyway, you're going home anyways after this," Lisbeth says, shaking her head.

Gosen averts his eyes, "I--uh, it's a comfort thing, I guess... School uniforms aren't really my thing. And if you're worried about the heat, there's really no problem. I'm used to it."

"I... don't think that's the issue here..." Silica gives an awkward smile, "Though to answer your question, yes, you are a bit early. Fifteen minutes early to be exact, which you'd know if you ever checked your phone, you know," she says matter-of-factly.

"...W-why do I feel attacked? I-I'm just not used to having one is all," responded Gosen. They'd been in the school for a week now, and even so he got his first genuinely useful phone about a month ago--the one he had when he was with his dad was almost useless. It never got paid, so all it really did was play music and tell time; having to go out of his way to grab his phone and respond to a message was a new concept to him. Of course, he'd had to respond to messages in SAO, but that was a different matter as the notice would remain in his vision until he viewed the message or responded.

"Not used to having one? Wait, have you never had a phone before?!" Asked Silica in a surprised tone.

"Uh, something like that, ahaha..." He didn't want them to know why, after all, thinking about his father really only brought pain to him.

"Ya know, somehow that makes sense..." Lisbeth said. There was a silence from there on as Gosen took a seat to the side and out of the way.

The door opened again, but this time the person sneaking up on Gosen, "Hey Gos!"

Gosen jumped, looking over his shoulder to see his old friend, Michael. "Michael? What are you doing here?"

Michael grins, "You kiddin' me? I was invited by Toshiaki, or as you'd know him, Kazuhiko."

Gosen folds his arms, thinking for a second, "Toshiaki...? Wait, you know Kazuhiko!?" He asks, shocked. How they had met, Gosen had no clue whatsoever, but that did save him the trouble of introducing them. It would figure that Kazuhiko would be here soon enough; he was the leader of a guild working day in and day out on the front lines helping to make sure players could safely return home. He was also one of the most honorable players Gosen knew, he was sincere in wanting to help others over himself, but confident in his own abilities at the same time.