"Today was so much fun, you two. Let's hang out again on the other side."
"Yeah, let's play again!"
"I'm really glad I could make up with Hikigaya-kun today. I look forward to keeping in touch, both of you."
"Orimoto, Nakamachi-san, see you back in Chiba."
"See ya!"
"You two be careful tomorrow!"
The day's events became a wonderful memory for the four of them. Even after returning to Chiba, their relationship would continue, occasionally but firmly.
Back at the hotel, the couple took a bath together as usual, then lay side-by-side in bed as they always did.
"Today was fun, Hachiman-kun."
"Yeah. There's something nice about meeting people while traveling."
"Yep! But wow, I'm sleepy."
"I guess so. A lot happened today."
Since they were both full and satisfied, they fell into a deep sleep while holding each other.
The next morning, Hachiman woke to the sensation of something soft touching his hand again.
(Well, it's just during this trip. I'll let her do as she pleases.)
Thinking this, Hachiman pretended to still be asleep. Asuna stood up with a satisfied look, left the room, and apparently began doing sit-ups in the other room.
(Well, I did eat a bit too much yesterday myself.)
Hachiman quietly got out of bed, approached Asuna from behind, gently embraced her, and kissed her on the cheek.
"Eh? Eh?"
"Good morning, Asuna."
Saying only that, Hachiman silently sat down on her legs to anchor her.
"Good morning, Hachiman-kun!"
Asuna, seemingly happy with his consideration, cheerfully resumed her sit-ups.
"I definitely ate too much yesterday, so I should probably do some too."
"Okay, then I'll be on top next."
"Before that, let's get the bath running."
"Ah, good idea."
After finishing their light morning exercise, they took a bath together happily.
"So, today we stop by the Sleeping Forest to check the situation, and then it's off to see that old geezer."
"Do you think it'll go well, like Kaori suggested?"
"It should be fine. If we can drag him onto our field, we've already won."
"Don't let your guard down, Hachiman-kun."
"I know. He's probably a stronger version of Suguha, so I'll handle him with that in mind."
They quickly finished breakfast and headed to the Sleeping Forest.
"Good morning, you two."
The first person to greet them was Tomomori. He gave off an air of exhaustion, but his expression was very bright.
"Tomomori-san, did you stay here last night?"
"I couldn't waste time commuting. Right now, I just need to focus."
Tomomori had been completely immersing himself in a certain task in response to Hachiman's request.
"How is it going?"
"Well, it's tough, but I think I've gotten the hang of it. If I spend the whole day on it, I think I can finish it perfectly."
"I'm really sorry to put you through this trouble when you're so busy."
"Not at all. This is very important to me too, so I don't consider it trouble."
"Thank you very much."
After a brief meeting with Keiko, Hachiman returned to the hotel, grabbed Haruno, and whispered something into her ear.
"I see... so that's how you've decided to play it. Understood. I'll go borrow some equipment from our staff."
Haruno made a call, and shortly after, someone who appeared to be a Soleil staff member arrived and handed her something. Then, Hachiman, accompanied by Haruno and Asuna, marched into the main Yuuki residence.
Since Shozo had arranged the appointment beforehand, the three of them were able to stand before Kiyomori without issue.
"What is your business today, boy? Did you find some other leverage to persuade me?"
"Nope. I didn't come here for that, you damn geezer. You must have been pretty frustrated getting easily twisted up by me and Asuna the other day, right? So, I thought I'd give you a chance for revenge. I came all the way here just for that."
"Ho?"
Provoked, Kiyomori's eyes glinted. He reached for the Japanese sword he always kept by his side.
"I won't go easy on you this time."
"Try it if you think you can."
Hachiman stepped forward, completely defenseless.
Asuna had assumed Hachiman would provoke him into a VR duel, so she found his current behavior suspicious. However, seeing Haruno remaining silent, she figured there must be a plan and watched quietly.
"Boy, what are you doing?"
"Just what it looks like."
Hachiman continued to walk forward, leaving himself wide open.
"Do you think I won't cut you?"
"Well, who knows?"
"You intend to keep walking forward? In that case... Die!"
Kiyomori swung the katana down toward the head of Hachiman, who was standing stock still right in front of him. Asuna's heart jumped, and she squeezed her eyes shut for a second.
When she opened them, she saw Hachiman standing motionless without a single change in expression, and Kiyomori with his blade stopped a hair's breadth from Hachiman's skull.
"Well, yeah. Normally, you wouldn't cut me."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because you are still the Chairman of the Yuuki General Hospital. If you were retired and just a 'former' Chairman, you might be able to claim you have no relation to the hospital. But if the current Chairman were to so much as scratch me with that sword—let alone kill me—the reputation of the entire Yuuki hospital chain would tank. Worst case scenario, it would go bankrupt."
"Hmph."
Kiyomori sheathed his sword and sat back down. Hachiman, just like last time, sat cross-legged in front of him.
"Do you think you've won with such a cheap trick, boy?"
"Of course not. What I wanted to say is that if you just wave a real sword around for show, it might scare the rest of the family, but you can't have a serious fight with me like that."
"Perhaps so. But then, boy, how do you intend to fight me? Are you suggesting we play samurai with bamboo swords in a dojo?"
"You're too old and frail now; you could never beat me. It wouldn't even be a contest. So here's a proposal: shut up and put this on."
"Ho?"
Kiyomori looked at the AmuSphere Hachiman held out and spoke with disinterest.
"You want to settle this with a toy? True, if we use that, we could slash at each other with swords, but that is nothing but an illusion. What meaning is there in a fight without pain? Don't make me laugh, boy."
"Hah, ignorance is truly a sin. That attitude is exactly why you've become an old fossil who can only evaluate others based on worthless emotional arguments. Listen up, geezer. That's not the advantage of this thing. The main reason to use this is to let you bring out the power of your prime."
"The power of my prime, you say?"
Kiyomori's eyebrow twitched; he was clearly intrigued.
"Exactly. This toy will reproduce the movements you visualize with exactly the force you visualize. You can't move the way you picture in your head anymore, right? Even if I beat an invalid like you, neither of us would be satisfied. We can only settle this properly if we clash with everything we have."
"Ho... you talk big. It seems you are fully confident you can win even against me in my prime."
"Obviously, geezer. No matter how much a geezer rejuvenates, a geezer is still a geezer."
"Very well. I accept your challenge."
Kiyomori likely decided to take the bait on purpose. He continued:
"If I win, boy, you will become my adopted son. And swear that you will never disobey me for the rest of your life. Of course, I might allow you to marry Shozo's daughter there."
"Fine, I accept those conditions. In exchange, I have a condition too."
"Naturally. Do you want me to simply accept your proposal from the other day?"
"No. If I win, promise me that you will absolutely retire at the next board election."
"...What did you say?"
"I accepted your conditions unconditionally. Naturally, you will accept mine unconditionally too, right?"
Kiyomori glared at Hachiman with sharp eyes.
"Boy... that was your goal from the start. When did you realize?"
"Since the first time we met, you haven't interfered with us at all. If you had tried something, I might have hesitated a bit, but you ultimately did nothing. That leaves only one answer. You knew a way to overturn whatever we did, with certainty. It's simple if you think about it. The family members and the directors of the affiliated hospitals are all terrified of you. So no matter what we do, as long as you remain the top dog, they will eventually obey you. To ensure that, you just had to cancel the election and stay on top forever."
"I see. You certainly have a sharp mind. I want you even more now. But boy, even if I lose this match, do you really think I will keep that promise? If so, you are quite naive."
"I wonder which of us is the naive one. Nee-san, if you please."
"Okay! The setup is perfect."
Prompted by Hachiman, Haruno finally made her move. In her hand was a small video camera, which she had been holding unnoticed.
Kiyomori looked flustered for the first time.
"Boy, what have you done!"
"Because Asuna was here, you didn't pay any attention to Nee-san's actions. Even when we first met, you didn't spare us a glance at the start, so I figured it would be like this. That arrogance—ignoring anyone who isn't a direct participant—might actually be your biggest weakness. To spoil the trick: our current conversation is already being streamed to the homes of every family member and hospital director. Of course, the match between you and me is scheduled to be streamed the same way. Incidentally, we can leak it to public video sites in an instant. Don't underestimate the power of my company. Now, what will you do? Run away with your tail between your legs? Though if you do that, your influence will drop to pretty much zero. Then you won't be scary at all."
"Kh... Boy, you..."
"Now, the only way for you to maintain your power is to win against me. Of course, you're confident you'll win, right? Or what? Do you actually intend to run away?"
Kiyomori glared at Hachiman in silence, but eventually, he seemed to steel his resolve.
"Very well. Let us settle everything with a direct confrontation between you and me."
"Decisive. I'll give you credit for that much."
"Don't come crying to me later, boy."
"That's my line. Alright Nee-san, please get things ready."
Haruno efficiently set everything up. Hachiman, Kiyomori, and Asuna put on their AmuSpheres and dived into a specially created arena, courtesy of Argo.
"Ho... This is my first time experiencing this, but it isn't bad."
Kiyomori spoke as soon as he entered.
"We based your avatar on photos from your youth, so your appearance is restored to your prime. Why don't you try moving around a bit? There are plenty of Japanese swords over there for weapons. Use the one with the balance that suits you best."
"Hmm, you've thought of everything."
Accepting Hachiman's offer, Kiyomori picked up several katanas and swung them in turn. His sword speed was considerable; seeing it, Hachiman warned himself not to let his guard down.
"This one. This fits my hand best."
Kiyomori chose a single blade. Even his manner of speech seemed to have rejuvenated slightly.
"Not 'Washii' (an old man's 'I') anymore, but 'Ore' (a younger man's 'I'), huh?"
"Indeed. I truly feel as if I've become young again. It feels excellent."
A samurai stood there. The intensity he projected was incomparable to the likes of Eugene; it was completely reminiscent of Kirito or Heathcliff.
"My weapon is decided. what do you intend to choose?"
"I'll use this dagger, and one other piece of equipment. Do you mind?"
"Do as you please. Use whatever equipment maximizes your combat ability."
"Then I won't hold back. Argo, can you hear me? This guy seems to be the strongest enemy I've ever faced, so I'm changing the plan. Send out 'That'."
With those words, an unfamiliar piece of equipment attached itself to Hachiman's arm.
Watching from close by, Asuna gasped.
"Yo. Long time no see, partner."
"Hachiman-kun, is that..."
"Yeah. For this match, I asked Argo to recreate it."
"Boy, what is that unfamiliar weapon? Or is it armor?"
"This is..."
At that same moment, in the living room of the Kuninaka household, Yoshikata and Komao were watching the match. The instant the equipment appeared on Hachiman's arm, Komao suddenly murmured:
"No way... to think I'd see that again..."
Komao let out a sob, causing Yoshikata to ask in concern:
"Komao, do you know what that unfamiliar equipment is?"
"Yeah, Dad. The name of that equipment is..."
Then, Hachiman, Asuna, and Komao spoke the name in unison.
"Acht Faust."
Thus, though only a simulation, the exclusive equipment that once fought alongside Hachiman and boasted invincibility was finally equipped to his arm once more.
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