Yumiko Miura happened to be in Hachiman's hospital room that day. Most of their high school friends had left their hometown, but Yumiko, attending a nearby university, often visited Hachiman. Despite her flashy appearance, she had a caring, motherly nature—a genuinely good person.
"Hey, Hikki, the other day…" Yumiko began, chatting as usual.
Whenever Yumiko visited, she talked to Hachiman, not about anything specific—just casual conversation. Oddly, they seemed closer now than during high school. Yumiko appreciated what Hachiman had done for their group and how much he'd pushed himself to help Hayama with his future plans. Incidentally, she'd confessed to Hayama on graduation day and been gently rejected.
Amid the calm atmosphere, a knock preceded the door sliding open. In walked Haruno, now a familiar face.
"Oh, Yumiko, you're here again. So diligent! Got a crush on Hikki?" Haruno teased.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Yumiko replied dryly.
"C'mon, don't be so casual about it," Haruno said.
"I mean, you say that every time…" Yumiko sighed.
"Today's a big meeting, so I'm setting up a monitor, but don't mind me. Keep talking to Hikki," Haruno said.
When Yumiko was around, Haruno often showed up, and the two chatting with Hachiman had become routine, almost natural.
"Speaking of the meeting, who's coming?" Yumiko asked.
"Oh, pretty much everyone involved. You know them all," Haruno said.
"Then I'll get out of the way—" Yumiko started.
"Don't you want to know what Hikki's up to?" Haruno asked.
"You can tell?" Yumiko said, surprised.
"Kinda. It's a surprise for when everyone's here. Stick around if you're curious," Haruno said.
"Well, I'm kinda interested, so I'll wait," Yumiko said.
"Cool, they'll be here soon," Haruno said.
First to arrive were Iroha and Komachi, the student council duo.
"Yumiko-senpai! Long time no see!" Iroha chirped.
"Hey, Iroha, been a while," Yumiko said.
"Yumiko-san, thank you for visiting Onii-san!" Komachi said.
"My school's nearby, so it's no big deal. Don't worry about it," Yumiko said.
"Yukino-san and Yui-san can't come as often, so Onii-san must be lonely. I'm so glad you visit, Yumiko-san!" Komachi said.
"Me and Hikki weren't that close, you know," Yumiko said.
"Still! Onii-san probably found you intimidating at first, but right before getting trapped in SAO, he said at home you're caring and kind!" Komachi said.
"Hikki said that…?" Yumiko murmured.
"For Senpai to praise someone is rare… Was he into Yumiko-senpai!? But I'm his real crush…" Iroha said.
"Nah, I doubt you're even on his radar, Prez," Komachi teased.
"What was that, Komachi-chan?" Iroha asked.
"Oh, look! Yukino-san and Yui-san are here!" Komachi said, pointing.
The two approached, waving, and entered the hospital. They reached the room and were surprised to see Yumiko.
"Yumiko, you're here! It's been forever!" Yui said.
"Why are you here, Miura-san?" Yukino asked.
"My school's close, so I drop by sometimes. Today, I just ran into this meeting thing," Yumiko said.
"We haven't been able to visit much…" Yukino said.
"Yeah, it's tough," Yui added.
"Don't sweat it. I check in now and then," Yumiko said.
"Thank you, Miura-san," Yukino said.
"Thanks, Yumiko!" Yui said.
They caught up with Iroha and Komachi, sharing recent updates. Haruno finished setting up and gathered everyone around the monitor.
"Here's why I called you all," Haruno said. "Ask questions anytime!"
Everyone nodded, but Yumiko, knowing nothing about Hachiman's SAO life, was especially curious.
"Let's do a quick recap for Yumiko," Haruno said.
"Oh, no, you don't have to—" Yumiko started.
"C'mon, your face says you're dying to know," Haruno teased.
"Well, maybe a little…" Yumiko admitted.
Haruno continued. "Hikki's fighting on the front lines and is among the top three in level. That hasn't changed."
"What? Hikki?" Yumiko gasped.
It didn't match her image of him from school, which was fair enough.
"And he's been with Asuna-san the whole time," Haruno added.
"Asuna-san? Who's that, Yui?" Yumiko asked, startled by the unfamiliar name.
"Uh… someone Hikki's been with a lot, I guess…" Yui said hesitantly.
"Hikki…?" Yumiko said, stunned.
"Sis, no new info yet. You called us for a big change, right?" Yukino asked.
"Right. But first, I got a job at RECT!" Haruno announced.
Cheers and applause followed. The job had been secured for a while, but today was the first good chance to share.
"RECT… what's that?" Yumiko asked.
"The parent company of the one managing SAO's servers. They also run ALO, the game we're playing," Haruno said.
"You guys play that game?" Yumiko asked.
"Wanna try it, Yumiko?" Yui asked.
"I've been curious. If you're all playing, I might consider it," Yumiko said.
"We'd welcome you, Miura-san," Yukino said.
"Thanks, Yukino-san. If I join, I'll count on you," Yumiko said.
Once known as the Queen of Fire and Ice Queen in high school, Yumiko and Yukino now got along well—indirectly thanks to Hachiman. What would he think of this scene? Haruno moved to the main topic.
"I called you because we found some incredible data recently," she said.
"Incredible data…" someone murmured.
A gulp echoed in the room.
"Ready? Especially you, Yukino-chan, Gahama-chan, and Prez," Haruno said.
"Calling us out means it's that kind of news," Yukino said.
"Kinda scary…" Iroha mumbled.
"We've talked this through plenty. We'll handle it!" Yui said.
"Tell us, Sis," Yukino said.
"Not tell—show. It's a photo. Here we go! Three, two, one!" Haruno said.
The large monitor displayed a photo taken by Ashley—Hachiman in his Knights of the Blood strategist uniform beside Asuna.
"Ugh…" Yui gasped.
"Not what I expected…" Iroha said.
The image stunned everyone. Yukino spoke first. "It's… frustrating, but they look perfect together. I've never seen Hikki like this."
"Hikki… he hasn't changed a bit," Yui said.
"Wow, Senpai's partner is gorgeous! That's her real face, right?" Iroha said.
"Yup, that's the Yuuki family's Asuna. Same face as before," Haruno said.
"My new big sister…" Komachi said. "Haruno-san, can I take a picture? I need to tell Mom and Dad!"
"For family only, sure. No sharing online," Haruno said.
"Got it! I'll make that clear," Komachi said.
"Hikki… kinda cool," Yumiko murmured.
"Huh?" everyone said, turning to see Yumiko blushing slightly.
"Yumiko, wait, what's that reaction?!" Yui exclaimed.
"Maybe my teasing wasn't a joke after all?" Haruno said. "There's another photo, with Hikki in different clothes."
"Don't drag it out, Sis. Show us," Yukino said.
"Hurry, hurry!" Iroha urged.
"This one's a different kind of shock. Brace yourselves," Haruno said.
The next photo appeared—Hachiman in Ashley's finest creation, beside Asuna, radiant in a wedding dress.
"Is this really Hikki?" Yukino said, blushing and fidgeting—a sight no one had ever seen. The others reacted similarly.
"Hikki looks like a different person! My heart's racing!" Yui said.
"Senpai's impact is unreal…" Iroha said.
"Onii-chan… I knew you'd shine with polishing!" Komachi said.
"The real Hikki…" Yumiko murmured.
"So it came to this…" Haruno said.
"You too, Sis?" Yukino asked.
"Maybe. It's definitely a shock," Haruno said, casually picking up her phone to put it away.
Yukino's instincts kicked in. "Everyone, grab her!"
"What, Yukino-chan?!" Haruno yelped.
"That phone's suspicious. Let me see," Yukino said.
Everyone pinned Haruno, and Yukino confiscated her phone. The wallpaper was… Hachiman from the photo.
"Sis, explain," Yukino said.
"Uh, haha…" Haruno laughed nervously.
"Sneaky move, Sis," Yukino said. "Not impressed."
"Sorry, it was so shocking I set it as my wallpaper and kept it to myself for a bit…" Haruno admitted.
"That's not fair, Haruno-san!" Iroha said.
"Fine, we're all setting it as our wallpaper. No objections, Sis," Yukino said.
"Yes…" Haruno sighed.
Komachi set the whole photo as her wallpaper, but the other four chose just Hachiman's image.
"Why are you setting Hikki as your wallpaper, Miura-san?" Yukino asked.
"It's, like, no different from using a celebrity's photo," Yumiko said.
"Yumiko equating Hikki with a celebrity…" Yui marveled.
They all stared at the photo again.
"It's not over yet, right, Yukino?" Yui said.
"No reason we should give up easily," Yukino said.
"Senpai, you'd better be ready when you return!" Iroha said.
"Maybe a chance for a big sister role?" Haruno teased.
"Hikki as my boyfriend…? Could work," Yumiko said.
"Another big sister candidate! But seeing Onii-chan like this… I don't know what to do!" Komachi said.
With renewed determination, they spent so much time grinning at their phones that others found it creepy—a story for another day. Meanwhile, Saki Kawasaki, late to the party, got the photos from Komachi later and stared at them endlessly, prompting a worried email from Taishi to Komachi.
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