Equis Art Online II

Welcome to ALO, Player! Choose your race!

Harushi chose Imp.

Enter your avatar Name!

Harushi thought for a sec, then she entered a name.

Runa

As she styled her avatar to her liking, she smiled and hit CONFIRM.

"Welcome!"

As Runa spawned, she opened her eyes to see Asuna and Kirito looking down at her.

"Hey, Runa." Asuna said, helping her up.

"Hey, Asuna." she replied, getting a feel for her new avatar and body.

"So, where are we?"

"In our house." Kirito replied.

"You own a house here?" Runa asked.

"Yeah. And for a while, we've been flat broke." Kirito said, and Asuna punched him in the arm. Runa giggled slightly and stood up and spun around, her robes twirling with the motion.

"This'll take some getting used to." She said.

"It does." Asuna said.

Runa laughed and walked outside with Asuna and Kirito. She gasped at the view of the lake and the forest.

"Wow...this is amazing!" Runa said.

"It's pretty much the house we got in SAO, Runa." Asuna said. "It brings back memories."

"I guess it can." Runa replied. As she equipped her basic staff and sword, she looked up into the sky.

"I think I'm gonna like it here."

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Three hours later

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Runa and the group walked through the streets of Yggdrasil City towards the plaza where the vendor was. Runa was holding hands with Asuna, and she and Kirito were right beside each other. As they neared the vendor, a notification appeared on each of their HUDs.

Check your inventory, player. It's on us.

GM Aria.

As they opened their inventory, they gasped. Two new items had arrived. One, a VIP Ball invitation. Second was a Gilded Seal coupon that allowed half-price from the merchant. As the notifications went away, Aries put his hand to his cheek.

"I wonder why the GMs did that." Aries said.

"Maybe it has to do with Muspelheim." Asuna said.

"Maybe." Kirito added. As they walked up, the merchant greeted them. Asuna looked through the selection of gowns, but nothing really stood out. Until she saw it under "Special Orders." A dress called "The Maiden's Tear". Something about it called to her.

She inspected the item and dropped her jaw slightly. Quickly, she purchased it and put it in her inventory, along with its respective jewelry, gloves, and shoes. She made sure everyone else was occupied, and took a look in the comparison window. She gasped at it's beauty. It was white and sky blue, with a princess line style, and even in the virtual window, it sparkled like a diamond. The corset was expertly engraved with a intricate, rococo-styled gem-like pattern, with two armlets on the shoulders, with a rose pattern along the top of the chemise. The large, full-length skirt, complete with a small ruffled edge, finished with a small teardrop gem necklace and tiara, with sky blue gloves made for a graceful image. A wispen, silk shawl completed the picture of a princess maiden, ready for a grand event. She admired the dress one last time before putting it away in her inventory. She looked over at the rest of the group, who were choosing their dresses or suits. She walked over at tapped Kirito on the shoulder.

"Asuna? You find one?"

"I did."

"You gonna show it?"

"I wanna keep it a surprise." she said.

"Fine." Kirito replied. "Allow me to show you my pick."

It was a black suit, with two coattails and a small silver sash. Plain, yet elegant, it was a respectable finish.

"Looks great." Asuna said. As she and Kirito held hands, Runa purchase her dress and looked at them.

"They're so into each other...with good reason, I guess." (indent)

"Runa?"

She flinched and looked over at Leafa, who was smiling.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just this whole thing is kinda overwhelming."

"Yeah. I mean, I don't really dance, and I don't ballroom dance at all, but I should be fine." Leafa said. "You should be fine, too."

"I hope so." Runa replied.

As they finished up and bought their chosen apparel, Runa looked over at Asuna, who was helping Yuuki pick hers.

"I hope we have fun, sis."

=============================

Harushi opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She sighed and took off her AmuSphere rig. She opened her door to see Asuna standing near the door.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I was waiting for you. It's almost dinnertime. Let's keep the ALO talk to a minimum, okay? Mom's not entirely sure that she likes it or ALO, for that matter."

"Okay."

As they sat down, Kyouko looked over at Harushi.

"Did you enjoy your gaming today?"

"We did. We mostly shopped, though. There's an event coming up, and we needed to pick a few things out."

"I see. Anyway Harushi, I looked into schools in the area for you, and I found one relatively close to Asuna's school. Since I was able to get your papers in early, you should start on the same day Asuna returns from Winter Break."

"Okay. It's really my first time in a school, though. Back at the temp house, I was homeschooled."

"I anticipated that. I've hired a tutor to help you until you are...shall we say...up to speed on the academic subjects."

"Fine." Harushi replied. "Who is it?

"A girl by the name of Shino Asada."

"Sinon?" Asuna asked.

"You know her?" Kyouko asked.

"Yes. She's one of Kazuto's friends. She's a nice girl, and she was at the party at the cafe'. Black hair, glasses?" Asuna asked.

"I do remember her. Glad I chose her, then. We should eat. Asuna, If I may...what kind of event is it?"

Asuna blushed.

"It's a formal dance. I'm going with Kirito."

"I see. Do you know what time it begins?"

"I'm meeting Kirito at 9:30 in our house. It officially starts at 10:30."

"Fine. " Kyouko said. "Try to be back by 1:00. The day after tomorrow school resumes."

"Okay, mom." Asuna said.

"One more thing." Kyouko said.

"What?" Asuna asked.

Kyouko smiled.

"Have a nice time."