Accel World: Dusk Robber

by Reki Kawahara

  "...H-Hey Chiyu, let me play with it a bit"

  "No!!"

  While he was still talking, he was coldly denied, and Chiyuri stuck out her tongue for a "Be~" between the small fangs in her mouth.

  "If I let Haru customize it, it will definitely become something that's oil, steel, and smoke filled."

  "Th-That's just fine."

  "N-o-W-a-y! Ah geesh, we haven't gotten anywhere in talks at all."

  As he looked up at the cat type avatar with her slender arms crossed, Haruyuki finally remembered the reason he was called here.

  "Ah... o-oh yeah. Then, what did you want me to do anyway?"

  "Just sitting there is fine."

  "Huh?"

  Not understanding what she meant, Haruyuki threw out his short legs in front as he sat on top of a huge cushion, with his head tilted. Then, right after—

  With a *bounce*, the cat type avatar jumped in front of him, and without any hesitation, she laid her supple body on top of Haruyuki's legs.

  "U...Uwaa!?"

  As Haruyuki jumped up to escape, Chiyuri's right hand held his nose and pulled him back to where he was.

  "You, become a pillow there for a while. Then I will forget about the time of that trip. Let me warn you, if you do anything erotic, I will let the Anomalocaris bite you."

  "I-I won't! Speaking of which... a pillow, what do you..."

  Not answering Haruyuki's excited question, Chiyuri extended her small claw fingers and snapped them. At that moment, the calm blue sky above, turned in one direction, and changed to a night sky with a huge moon floating above.

  Under the blinking stars that looked the same as constellations found in picture books— and on top of Haruyuki's knees, Chiyuri stretched widely, lay on her side and curled up.

  "...There isn't, any deep meaning."

  From the mouth that Haruyuki could not see, came a small whisper.

  "Just, when Haru used to come for sleepovers in my home, I remembered that I soon fell asleep when you became my pillow."

  "...Wh-When was that..."

  "Who knows. Long... long ago."

  With a "Fuwa" yawn, the cat type avatar really closed her eyes.

  ...This kind of role, ask Taku.

  He wanted to say that, but Haruyuki swallowed back those words. While they were young, only Haruyuki had experienced being used as a pillow by Chiyuri. Due to Takumu's parent's strict educational policy, he usually did not have a chance to sleep over at either of their homes.

  But, even so, would a conditional response from that long ago remain till now? Furthermore they were both animal type avatars, and this was a virtual cushion heaven created by the Neuro Linker. However, of course, he absolutely could no longer imitate this with his real body. No, even for VR it was questionable, to be truthful.

  While that kind of thought spun around in his head, what was amazing was Chiyuri really starting to sleep, breathing calmly.

  "...Unbelievable..."

  As he groaned involuntarily, Chiyuri, whom he thought just entered sleep, mumbled in an indistinct voice.

  "Hey, Haru... I, really worked hard..."

  "Huh? For what...?"

  "To become a Burst Linker... I tried really hard... Like this... again, we, will return. Like back then... three of us, every day, playing till the sun goes down... that... time..."

  There, this time for sure Chiyuri went into a deep sleep. To the avatar that was breathing virtual air with a *Suu Suu* sound echo, he touched the soft fur under her ear, and Haruyuki answered in his chest with a sigh.

  —There should be something that won't change.

  —But, something that changed, and will no longer return to where it was, also exists for sure.

  A few minutes later, after the Neuro Linker determined that Chiyuri had went into a deep sleep, it automatically canceled Full Dive for her. Even after the cat type avatar on his knees disappeared with a bell like sound effect, for a while Haruyuki sat in between the mute stuffed animals.

  Chapter 2

  On the eastern side of the Suginami district, was the private Umesato middle school, with three classes for each grade, so its size couldn't be considered large.

  Even so, as the school's total of 360 students lined up in the gym, the pressure from their looks should be considerable. If he himself was the target of that concentrated stare, Haruyuki believed that he would at least have a physical hole burnt into him.

  However, standing on the podium at the school entrance ceremony, even without the help of the Neuro Linker, the dignified voice reached the back line of students, that person's face was so cool as if it did not feel a single milligram of pressure.

  "...Many of you right now must have feelings of anticipation, unease, and things like that. For newly arrived students, seeing a new school, and new upperclassmen might result in great confusion. However, please think about it. Right now, those people with composed faces behind you, one or two years ago, were sitting where you were with unease exactly the same as yours..."

  —Unbelievably, the person speaking those respectable words was, in the other world, a wanted destroyer, a ruthless killer, and above that a demonic trainer that would surprise even US marines.

  While he grumbled in his chest, Haruyuki continued to look with unsuppressed longing, at the girl on the stage— with a black blouse and a dark red ribbon, slender long legs covered by black stockings, she was Kuroyukihime.

  His relationship with that person was special— calling it like that did not convey its full meaning, and half a year later, they still had not reached the level of boyfriend and girlfriend. Inside school, the recognition from the surrounding students were similar, Kuroyukihime's sense of duty and pity saved a round underclassman, and kept him as a favorite pet to walk with, they thought of it like that.

  And for Haruyuki, he was actually not dissatisfied with it. On the other hand, he thought it showed the truth. He would like to avoid being treated as a pet, instead as the knight of a princess— no, a squire, nono, a page, he would be well satisfied around there.

  "...One year, is equal to 31,536,000 seconds, if that time is passed massively, then it is just an instant. I wish you all a fruitful year. And that ends my greeting."

  She bowed, then turned around with her long black hair swaying, and returned to the line of student council members in the back.

  While he was desperately clapping his hands along with all of the school's students, he went into idle thought.

  Today, I will be in my 2nd year, and senpai will be in her 3rd year. That means in just one year— that person will graduate from Umesato middle school.

  No, that does not mean their relationship would be broken. That person and him, other than upperclassman and lowerclassman in the same school, had a far stronger relationship— they had their Burst Linker «Parent Child» bond.

  He closed his eyes tightly once, and when he opened them again, Haruyuki clapped his hands together hard.

  At that time—

  Haruyuki who was staring intently at Kuroyukihime on the stage, felt that he saw the detached beauty subtly move suddenly.

  Her narrowed jet black pair of eyes, stopped at the foremost group of fresh first year students, and soon returned to looking in front. Haruyuki wrinkled his eyebrows, and straightened his back on the chair in an attempt to see who Kuroyukihime was staring at, but of course he could not find one person in the middle of everyone wearing the same uniform.

  After the school's entrance ceremony had finished, Haruyuki, who returned to the school building, almost went to the 3rd floor in a daze, and hurriedly changed direction to his new classroom on the 2nd floor.

  The class he was placed in was already announced through the Local Net, but other students' names would not be known to him till he entered the classroom. I beg you, please don't have anyone in class who will call me «Pig-kun» again, or make me buy buns and other things!, with that wish, Haruyuki passed through the 2nd year C class door—

  "Haru, Hi!"


  With that sound, his back was knocked on with full force, so his breath was stopped.

  When he turned 90 degrees to the left at a high speed, what he saw was the cat type hairpin holding up the front bangs as usual, the face of his childhood friend with a smile showing her canine teeth.

  "...Chi-Chiyu. You... here?"

  "What? What's with that complex looking face?"

  Seeing that pout, Haruyuki wondered in his heart if she really saw that «nightmare» last night, and answered.

  "No, nothing."

  That's right, even if he was in the same class as Chiyuri, if he did not get bullied again, then he did not need to fear. But, there was a problem aside that. With this, the triangle's side lengths would again become subtly—

  "Hey, Haru. Chi-chan too."

  His back was knocked on again, and this time Haruyuki turned 90 degrees to the right. When he looked up, he saw Takumu's smiling face behind blue glasses.

  Somehow the three of them seemed to be placed in the same class. That meant the triangle shrunk while keeping the same size. While remembering Chiyuri last night saying, "We can return right, to that time", he realized there was some disturbance in his chest, and Haruyuki made the same smile while saying.

  "Hi, Taku is also in C class huh. ...Let's see."

  Faintly recalling the probability calculation for this situation, he mouthed the answer.

  "The probability of the three of us being in the same class is... ⅓ over ⅓ over ⅓, that is 1/27 huh. This is an incredible coincidence."

  Then, while walking towards the window, Takumu lightly shook his head.

  "No, that is 1/9."

  "Huh, why?"

  "Why?"

  Chiyuri who reached the same answer as Haruyuki, also asked in surprise at the same time. While leaning his smart tall body on the window ledge, Takumu explained after pushing his frameless glasses up.

  "If it was «the probability of us three being in C class», then it would be 1/27 as Haru said. But, in this case where the class is does not matter. So it becomes «the three of us together in A class, B class, or C class», then the number is 3 times, and becomes 1/9."

  "Ah—!"

  "I see!"

  Again, he and Chiyuri nodded at the same time, and Haruyuki finally added with a smile.

  "As expected from Taku, during Spring Break you sharpened the Professor character huh..."

  "Haru, really stop that! If I am given a nickname as «Professor» or «Glasses guy», it will be Haru's fault."

  While making a seriously unpleasant face, Takumu took a glance at the 2nd year C classroom increasingly filled with more students and said in a low voice.

  "...Anyway, there are all sort of coincidences in the world, and if you calculate it, you can see that it is relatively higher probability than your impression, that is what it means. That's why I think we should be prepared just in case."

  "Huh? For what?"

  Takumu got close to Haruyuki's blank looking face, and whispered with a low sound—

  "The new first years. In that 120 people, there is a possibility of unknown Burst Linkers mixed in it."

  After hearing that, Haruyuki took a momentary sharp breath, then shook his head slightly.

  "Th-That... possibility is not zero, but, would they go into a school other than their «Parent»'s school? If they transfer in like Taku then that is another story..."

  "Yeah, normally, you don't make a «Child» of someone going to a different school than you. Because, if that school has another Burst Linker, there is a very high possibility that your «Child» will be taken into the fighting force of that side. The strongest relationship in the accelerated world is «Parent Child», but «Same School» is next to that..."

  Like Takumu said, for Burst Linkers that are going to the same school, eventually they would unavoidably commit «Reality Intrusion» with each other. If they started fighting, then that fight would always be to the death with no game rules. In that situation, to protect their Brain Burst, they would have to cease fire and make up eventually.

  That's why many Burst Linkers did not pick someone who had a possibility of going to a different school from theirs to be their «Child». That means, the Burst Linkers in Umesato middle school right now should be Kuroyukihime, Haruyuki, Takumu —and Chiyuri too— only those, in this situation, you could say there should be almost no unknown Burst Linker that would be a new first year student.

  However, of course that did not mean they didn't have to check to make sure.

  While trying to think back to when he was a new student last year, Haruyuki asked Takumu.

  "Let's see... When would be the first time a new student connects to the Local Net?"

  "It should be soon. If it is the same as the school I previously attended, certainly after the school entrance ceremony ends, while moving to the classroom, when the account is first given out."

  With that answer, after thinking for a bit, Haruyuki said with a snicker.

  "...Then, let's do this. Since checking will use up 1 Burst Point anyway, we might as well see what kind of Duel Avatar Chiyu obtained in the «Duel Field». When the homeroom that is next ends, I will «Accelerate» and challenge Chiyu, so Taku can join in the gallery."

  Their new homeroom teacher was a young male teacher in charge of Japanese history. The teacher called Sugeno, as opposed to his age, was a very firm "Children don't need the Net" advocate, so Haruyuki did not feel close to him, but his hot blood fever got along with the other students.

  If you search the Net for everything, then you will become an adult that cannot think with your head!, while ignoring that kind of expressed belief belonging to Sugeno, the student self introduction was somehow over, and right after the first period homeroom ended, Haruyuki sang the acceleration command in his mouth.

  "Burst Link."

  After the *Viiiii!* dry thunder like sound echoed all over inside his brain, the surrounding scene was all dyed blue.

  At the same time, Sugeno who was stepping off the teacher's podium, and the other students who were going to stand up from their chairs, all suddenly stopped.

  The time did not stop. The «Brain Burst» program that was hiding inside Haruyuki's Neuro Linker, only accelerated his consciousness 1000 times.

  On the left side of his virtual desktop, he touched the burning «B» icon, and started the game console. While the matching list refreshed, he waited somewhat in anticipation.

  On the very top of the list, soon «Silver Crow», that is Haruyuki's own Duel Avatar's name floated. The right side showed level 4.

  Continuing was «Black Lotus», that is Kuroyukihime. Of course, level 9. Next, was at same level as Haruyuki, «Cyan Pile»— that is, Takumu's name appeared.

  With a tiny delay, another line of letters popped up shining.

  «Lime Bell». Level 1.

  At that time, the list's 'Searching' display disappeared. That meant, at this moment, there were four Burst Linkers connected to the Umesato middle school Local Net. And then, «Lime Bell» without a doubt would be Chiyuri.

  At this time, without exception, all 120 new first year students should have signed into the Local Net, so he could conclude that there really were no new Burst Linkers among those students.

  However, there was one thing that nagged at him, if he really wanted to mention it.

  During the school entrance ceremony, from the top of the stage, Kuroyukihime momentarily stared at the line of new students sharply. What did that mean?

  I should send her an email to check, he thought that for an instant, but since Kuroyukihime who is the vice president of the student council should be swamped by a mountain of different tasks right now, he changed his mind.

  As his avatar's finger extended towards the names of four Burst Linkers in Umesato middle school, Haruyuki had a quick thought.

  Lime, that is probably a yellowish green color. A little close combat kind of indirect attack type. However what kind of ability she actually had, he would not kn
ow till he saw it in the duel.

  Duel Avatar is a manifestation of its owner's sense of inferiority—. From half year ago, Kuroyukihime's words rang in his ears.

  Of course, just by looking at the avatar's appearance, one could not instantly fathom the owner's «Emotional scars». Actually, right now Haruyuki still could not determine what was Takumu and Kuroyukihime's sense of inferiority that created such powerful avatars.

  Even so, it was true that it exposed the «Hidden inside».

  In his blue frozen view, Haruyuki glanced at the back of Chiyuri that was a bit away to his left side. Swallowing his slight hesitation, he touched the name «Lime Bell», and clicked «Duel» from the pop-up menu.

  The field that appeared had huge gears and conveyors moving around in a rumble, the «Construction Site» stage.

  While waiting for himself to be changed to the silver colored «Silver Crow», and the burning word 'FIGHT' to pop up, he slowly stood up.

  He looked around the 2nd year C classroom where his classmates had disappeared, and in exchange were filled with mysterious machines, and first saw the large blue avatar, «Cyan Pile». After giving a quick nod to him, Haruyuki looked at the one standing opposite of him, a delicate avatar that was similar to his.

  «Lime Bell» was covered in unexpectedly vivid lettuce green equipment.

  The whole body's supple lines showed a clearly female shape. The limbs and body were mostly slender like Silver Crow's, and the waist was equipped with a tree leaf like armor.

  The head was covered with a magic-user-like wide-brim pointed hat, and under that was a face mask with eyes that resembled a cat's.

  However the most distinctive feature was, the huge bell-shaped equipment in her left hand, probably a hand bell. While thinking whether it was a weapon or a musical instrument, just as it looked like, Haruyuki walked towards her.