At the hospital, Dr. Tsurumi, the rehab specialist, greeted Hachiman and Asuna.
"Hachiman-kun, over here. Please place the patient in this wheelchair," Tsurumi said.
"Got it," Hachiman replied, gently lifting Asuna and setting her in the wheelchair.
"Asuna, this is Dr. Tsurumi, your rehab doctor," Hachiman introduced.
"I'm Asuna Yuuki. Nice to meet you, Doctor," Asuna said.
"Nice to meet you too, Asuna-san. Let's start rehab tomorrow," Tsurumi said.
"Yes!" Asuna nodded.
"Let's head to the room," Tsurumi said.
They went to Hachiman's former hospital room. At the door, Tsurumi excused herself for work, saying, "See you tomorrow." Hachiman paused before opening the door, remembering something and quietly asking Haruno, "Yomino-san, what happened to those screenshots?"
"Oh, I swapped them for new ones from just before the Grand Quest," Haruno replied.
"The ones from then?" Hachiman asked.
"Yup, so no worries," Haruno assured.
"I wasn't—" Hachiman started.
"It'd be embarrassing to show those right away, right?" Haruno teased.
"…Thanks," Hachiman muttered.
"You're welcome!" Haruno chirped.
Hachiman had taken screenshots of his comrades before the Grand Quest to show Asuna. Inside the room, those photos were neatly arranged on a single panel.
"Hachiman-kun, these are…" Asuna began.
"Photos of the friends who gathered to save you," Hachiman said.
Asuna's eyes widened at the number of people. "Wow, amazing."
"Here's Kirito," Hachiman pointed.
"Definitely looks like Kirito-kun," Asuna said.
"And Leafa, his sister," Hachiman continued.
"Oh, right, I heard he had a sister," Asuna recalled.
"Here's Klein, Egil, and Silica," Hachiman said.
Asuna's excitement peaked. "Silica-chan has cat ears!"
"That's what you focus on?" Hachiman said.
"But it's cat ears! On cute Silica-chan!" Asuna protested.
"Alright, moving on. These are people you don't know yet," Hachiman said, calming her.
"This one's obvious," he pointed.
"Yup! My beloved sister Komachi-chan! With cat ears!" Asuna exclaimed.
"This is Yukino, Yomino-san's sister, my clubmate," Hachiman said.
"From the Service Club, right?" Asuna asked.
"And YuiYui, another clubmate," Hachiman added.
"The two I've heard about! I want to meet them soon," Asuna said eagerly.
"You will. This is Iroha, my junior and former student council president," Hachiman continued.
"You and the student council? Hard to picture," Asuna said.
"This is Mobius-senpai, another former student council president and Undine lord," Hachiman said.
"Two student council presidents in a row?" Asuna asked.
"Yeah, helped them through club activities. That's the inner circle," Hachiman finished.
Haruno chimed in, "Asuna-chan, notice anything so far?"
"Something off with my explanation, Haru-neesan?" Hachiman asked.
"Gotta tell Asuna-chan the truth, right?" Haruno said.
"The truth?" Asuna asked, puzzled.
Asuna studied the screenshots, then clapped her hands. "Haru-neesan, all of Hachiman-kun's non-SAO friends are women!"
"Correct!" Haruno cheered.
"Hey, don't make it sound misleading!" Hachiman protested.
"What do you think?" Haruno asked Asuna.
"I realized my Hachiman-kun is super popular with women!" Asuna said proudly.
"Right? We all love him, including me!" Haruno said.
"Yes! That makes me so happy, Haru-neesan!" Asuna beamed.
Hachiman, mid-protest, froze at Asuna's words. "Asuna, my brain can't keep up with your logic…"
"I knew Asuna-chan wouldn't get jealous," Haruno said.
"Jealous? Not really. It's expected. I'm proud my boyfriend's so popular!" Asuna said.
"Most people would be jealous," Haruno noted.
"We spent two years together in SAO. Hachiman-kun's clumsy with women but kind. I figured lots of women would see that and like him. He kept every promise in SAO, including staying together forever. So I'm not worried. If something seems off, it's probably my misunderstanding. I'm fine, Haru-neesan," Asuna explained.
"You're incredible, Asuna-chan. I'm jealous," Haruno said.
"Thank you!" Asuna replied.
Note: During the future Death Gun incident, Asuna would skillfully manage the influx of women around Hachiman with a mix of charm and discipline.
"But women like that can become too convenient for guys. So sometimes, get jealous or be selfish. That's the secret to a happy relationship," Haruno advised.
"Oh, right! Then… what's this about, Hachiman-kun? Hmph!" Asuna huffed playfully.
"Hmph?" Hachiman echoed.
"Okay, um… pfft!" Asuna tried again.
"Cute," Hachiman said.
"Stop showing off!" Haruno interjected, overwhelmed by the flirting.
Hachiman clarified, "Asuna, it's just coincidence that my ALO group was mostly Service Club members. I'm not surrounded only by women. You met Hayama and Tobe, right?"
"Oh, right, sorry," Asuna apologized.
"You met Hayato, huh?" Haruno noted.
"Yup!" Asuna confirmed.
Hachiman showed her phone photos. "Here's Zaimokuza, who helped Argo externally."
"Wow, he's huge," Asuna said.
"And Totsuka," Hachiman added.
"This is a girl, right?" Asuna asked.
"Nope, Totsuka's 100% a guy," Hachiman said.
"This beauty is a boy?!" Asuna gasped, glancing at Haruno.
"Yup, Totsuka-kun's a boy," Haruno confirmed.
Asuna gave Hachiman a skeptical look. "Didn't you just say you trust me?"
"I didn't say that! Just that you keep promises!" Asuna teased.
"Fair enough," Hachiman conceded.
"It's getting late. Finish the explanations, and let's wrap up," Haruno said.
"Right. Back on track, Asuna," Hachiman said.
"Okay," Asuna nodded.
"This is Recon, Leafa's classmate. Bit soft but gutsy. I like him," Hachiman said.
"Got it," Asuna said.
"Here's Eugene, ALO's strongest until Kirito beat him. Salamander lord's brother. This is Sakuya, Sylph lord, and Alicia, Cait Sith lord," Hachiman continued.
"So many big names in such a short time. Impressive," Asuna said.
Hachiman turned to Haruno. "Last one, no screenshot. The true strongest ALO player, Yomino-san, aka Soleil, former Undine lord."
"That's me, Soleil!" Haruno cheered.
"Haru-neesan's the strongest? Amazing!" Asuna exclaimed.
"Half-retired, though," Haruno said. "Asuna-chan, ready to wear the NerveGear again?"
"Yes. It has painful memories, but it's how I met Hachiman-kun, so I'm not scared. I'm keeping it, not giving it back to my brother," Asuna declared.
"Alright, I'll prepare ALO software for nighttime play alongside daytime rehab," Haruno said.
"Thank you, Haru-neesan!" Asuna said.
The visit ended, and Hachiman and Haruno left. Alone, Asuna gazed at the screenshots, imagining flying freely in ALO. Excited, she couldn't sleep—partly because the bed smelled like Hachiman, though that's left unsaid for her dignity. Then she noticed a switch and a note by her pillow: A gift for Asuna-chan.
"From Yomino-san? Let's try it," Asuna said, pressing the button.
The wall photo flipped, revealing a screenshot of Hachiman and Asuna's in-game wedding.
"Oh… this screenshot survived. I'm so happy," Asuna whispered.
Overwhelmed with joy, she drifted to sleep, wrapped in happiness.
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Greyhounds
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