The Gunpowder Blade

A Normal World

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Hey, Familia of the Closet! This should be it. The final chapter, aside from the epilogue, of course ;). I have big plans in store for the next chapter. Hope you enjoy the rest:). Love ya!<3

-Seijirou

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(Kazuto)

"Klein..." I whispered, tears flowing down my face. I reached for him as I did Asuna when she was slain in Sword Art. A soft knock at the door interrupted the "trance" I was in. 

"Kazuto?" Asada walked in, scanning the room. Her eyes landed on me. She walked over and knelt in front of me. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked. I whimpered, thinking of Klein. 

"Klein... I-I..." I managed to say through my sobs. Asada's eyes grew wide, she pulled me closer. 

"I'm sorry," She said, holding me as tight as possible without suffocating me. 

"I saw him..." I whispered. Asada grip loosened. She backed away, staring into my eyes.

"What?" She looked puzzled. I thought for a second then shook my head. 

"Nothing, nevermind," I said, standing up. She stood up along with me.

"Are you sure?" She questioned. I nodded and walked toward the door, Asada in tow. We walked back to the lobby where Suguha, Midori, and Minetaka were waiting. 

"Ah, good, you found him," Midori chimed. "Where was he?" Asada thought about her answer carefully. 

"Getting a drink," She replied. Midori nodded in acknowledgment. 

"Can we go now?" Suguha whined. I walked up to her chair and grabbed the handles, beginning to push her out the doors. She didn't get mad at me. But instead, she smiled. Minetaka stepped in front of us and walked in the direction of the car, we followed him. "Oh, let's stop for food on the way home!" Minetaka chuckled. 

"Alright," He nodded.

"Where are we eating?" I asked, mentally rubbing my stomach, thinking of a nice, juicy burger.  Asada could see me drooling and laughed quietly. 

"You know exactly where I wanna go," She exclaimed. Minetaka shook his head, laughed softly. 

"McDonald's it is," He sighed, unlocking the car. I pushed Suguha's wheelchair next to the back left door and opened it. I grabbed her under her arms and slowly lifted her into the car. Once she was in, I folded the wheelchair and put it in the trunk. Asada opened the back right door and got in, sitting in the middle seat, right next to Suguha. I got in and closed the door. After putting on my seatbelt, Midori turned around and smiled as Minetaka started the car and slowly drove out of the hospital parking lot. 

***

The soft sound of the radio masked Suguha's ragged breaths. Asada was asleep, laying on my shoulder. I had her phone in my pocket because it kept falling out of hers. Her phone began vibrating to the beat of her long notification sound. I slowly lifted it out of my pocket and looked at the screen. An email, from Tohoku University. I looked at her quickly then opened the email. The first line gave me chills. 

"Dear Ms. Shino,

We regret to inform you that your application to Tohoku University has been rejected..." 

I was shocked, for three reasons. How could she get rejected, why didn't she tell us she was applying to the most prestigious school in Japan, and why didn't they send a letter? I looked at Asada once more before going back to reading.