All I Need Book 2

Numb

Asuna's P.O.V.

~~Flashback/dream~~

"I don't know. I had planned to go to hunting with Klein and his guild, but I'm getting a bad feeling about this dungeon. It's too close to the boss room and if one of us gets killed... I don't think I could bear it.", Kirito said, tightening his grip on my hand.

We sat on our bed in Aincrad as we got ready for the day. Klein had invited Kirito to go hunting with him and his guild, but Kirito was getting anxious about it. He had a feeling that there was something wrong with the dungeon because he'd gotten some information from a reliable info broker that it was the hardest dungeon in the game and that nobody who went in ever came out alive.

I was trying to comfort him, but he seemed to be intent on steering clear of the place completely. I never knew him to be the superstitious type, but I knew he would much rather trust somebody and regret it than not trust them and regret it even more. That much, I had learned time and time again, going on strange adventures to do various things with nothing but my sword and Kirito to get there with.

"If you don't think it's a good idea, then tell him so. I've said so in the past and I'll say it again. Go with what your instincts tell you because they're usually right.", I said.

"Well, my instincts are telling me I'll be called a chicken if I don't go.", Kirito laughed.

"Would you rather be a chicken or dead?", I asked.

"Good point. I'll message Klein and tell him that I'm not going. Instead, I'll spend the whole day with you.", he said, taking my face in his hands and pulling me close to him.

I smiled and pecked him on the nose. He smirked and pulled me in for a real kiss, which was far more enjoyable than any dungeon could have been.

"So what should we do? I mean, it's a beautiful day.", Kirito asked when we finally broke the kiss.

"Well, I was going to go shopping, but I guess I could postpone that to a later date. Instead, why don't we go on a date?", I suggested.

"I think that sounds like an awesome idea. There's a beach on floor 63 we could go to.", Kirito said.

"That sounds amazing.", I said.

"Well, let's go, then.", Kirito said.

I smiled and nodded. We pulled out our teleportation crystals and jumped to Floor 63, where the biome was tropical. We had cleared this floor a month ago, so it was relatively new, but the dwelling floors were only the first 50, so not that many people were there.

When we arrived at the beach, I made Kirito turn around while I changed into my bathing suit, then I did the same for him since literally nobody else was around. When we had both changed, I ran out onto the sand.

As I ran, it disturbed me that I couldn't feel my feet burn on the hot sand, which had baked in the sun all day. I couldn't feel the brisk water that lapped at my legs when I ran into the ocean. I couldn't feel the sun on my skin or the wind. I was... numb. Like I was paralyzed, but I could still move. I had never thought about it more clearly than I had right then.

Kazuto took my hand from behind me. You couldn't even call it a feeling when he had. I had sensors, which let me know when things were touching me, but that was all I had to tell me those things.

"I can tell when something's troubling you. Let me share your burden. Let me help.", Kirito whispered comfortingly into my ear.

I sighed.

"None of this is real. All we are right now is data in an online world. We're a bunch of fricking numbers. I can't even feel the warmth of your hand or the heat of the day. The cold of the water, or the sun on my skin. I'm constantly looking for answers, something to make me feel again. I'm not even real. It's driving me insane. I just want to go to sleep and never wake up.", I said, my eyes stinging from the tears that were surfacing in them.

Kirito rubbed my hand with his thumb. I couldn't even feel that. I just knew that he was doing it.

"I know how you feel. The first thing I want to feel when I wake up is your soft hand in mine. The heat of your flesh when I hug you. We may be codes in a virtual world, and our feelings may be numb, but what do you feel for me?", Kirito asked.

I stopped for a moment. I knew the answer, I had just never thought about it.

"I love you.", I said.

"That's a feeling. We're a bunch of numbers in this world, sure, but numbers can't feel love, or loss, or pain, or joy. You know what that means?", Kirito asked as he pulled me into a loving embrace. My hand was on his bare shoulder and I laid my head on his chest. There was no heartbeat, but why would there be?

"It means you're real. You are not just some numbers in a computer, you're you. Your mind is controlling your action and your emotion, and if that's not real, what is? We may not be physically here in this death trap, but we have our lives in the real world, which I swear I'll get you back to, someday if it kills me. Because I have so much love for you. No numbers could calculate, or even begin to comprehend that.", Kirito said.

The tears had long since started falling and I was a complete mess, but neither of us cared as we stood there in the water and felt the love we had for one another.

"I love you, Kirito.", I said when I had my voice under control.

"I love you, to Asuna. With all my heart. I swear on my sword that I'll take this numbness away and give you your senses back. You'll live to see the real world again.", he replied.

As I woke from the dream, I could feel Kazuto's hand on the back of my head and the other around my waist. My hand was on his shoulder and my head was resting on his chest so that I could hear his heartbeat. I smiled. I could feel his warmth. The sheets and the pillows under me. I could feel the warm sun coming through the window and hitting the end of the bed. I could feel.

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Well, that one went out to @RockmanZX! I hope y'all loved this as much as I did. I had a ton of fun writing it! Let me know what you think in the comments and don't forget to vote!

Also, my boyfriend is on Wattpad, so you can follow him, if you want. It's Saxton Stewart.

-Scarlet