Abyss of the Shrine Maiden

Tuner of Casuality

“It’s not fair how good you are at English,” Koharu says as she closes the virtual window possessing her English homework out the way, cutting her eyes at the American in the corner of her AR screen created by the Augma. She sighs and leans back on the large pink bean bag used as a backrest while sitting at the floor table. She faces the other occupant of the table, her younger brother Suko watching television while eating an afternoon snack, his homework long completed with the aid of his sister and her friend. “But thanks for helping both of us. I know you’re busy back in Kyoto.”

“Not really. I mean, I do my homework with you, so that’s taken care of. Everything else is just...me sitting here, waiting for dad to wake up.”

Koharu holds her legs to her torso and makes a gloomy face. “I know I told you to go and all, but I miss you. And to think we finally started dating.”

“Yeah, this is your doing, Ko.”

“Agreeing with me will make me unhappy.”

“Anyway, I miss you guys too. Sorry I haven’t been online or anything. But hey, at least the Augma has this video chat feature, and we’ve made full use of it. It was nice to see Kazuto, Asuna, Alice, Keiko, and Rika with you last night. I got to talk with Kotone and Nijika too… Oh, speaking of which, Nijika wanted me to ask you something. Something about playing the piano or something for a song she’s working on.”

Koharu widens her eyes and stands up, heading to her bedroom. “Playing the piano? I… I haven’t done that in years. I mean, I did have the music hobby skill in SAO, but I haven’t touched a piano in a long time. I haven’t even opened the keyboard my mother bought for me.”

“You should talk to her, give it a try. I’ve seen the awards you got as a kid. You were great. I don’t see why you put piano off for gymnastics, though. Couldn’t you do both?”

“I decided to do just one, so I chose gymnastics. But physically, I’m so out of practice that it’d be hard to pick it up again… I have thought about picking up music again.”

“Here’s your opportunity. Just think on it.”

“Okay.”

“So, what’s the deal with SA semicolon O? Has anything on the new floor come up?”

“No, nothing has...wait, did you just say the whole abbreviation out loud?” Koharu closes her eyes in second-hand shame and positions the window of Joshua to face away from her as she enters her closet and begins to take off her school uniform.

“Yes, I did… Ko, what are you doing? Why am I looking at a wall?”

“I’m getting undressed. Have I ever gotten undressed with you looking at me?”

Joshua sighs and closes his eyes. “But around me was always okay? What made you think I never looked?”

“I knew you did. It would be stupid to think otherwise since we shared rooms and a bed. But I trusted you’d never do anything, although…” Koharu glances at the mirror, staring at her mostly nude figure with only her white underwear on. Her curvature from her younger, pre-SAO form has remained; she grew a bit in the breast department but still dwarfed by Asuna, Rika, Suguha, and damned Strea.

Until SAO, she never really thought about her body image beyond an athlete’s mindset, but after sharing a bath with Asuna the first night after they met and seeing how gorgeous she was, Koharu started to think of herself as a girl. That, along with her increasing feelings towards Jaymes and what she believed to be his general ignorance of Koharu as a girl, shook her mind like a carbonated soda in a plastic bottle, bursting the moment when Jaymes confessed his feelings. “Maybe not in the beginning, but eventually, after you confessed, I wished you did.”