Sword Art Online: Regeneration Gypsophila

Part 1.1: Taiyaki and Udon

     The person behind the cash register serves a beautifully presented bowl of Kitsune udon. The ay the Narutomaki and deep fried tofu sat on a thick bed of noodles with dashi broth.

     She pulls out a wooden chopsticks from a nearby box and break it and starts eating it. Everything went well together as she ate. But it wasn't only the taste that got her hooked into it recently.

     "Itadakimasu." She quietly told herself.

     There would be times Asuna Yuuki-Kirigaya came here for lunch breaks or after work meals. Today she came just to eat for her own. It was four in the afternoon on a Friday. Her son is at kendo practice and he'd prefer to stay in his room and do what it was he did. Occasionally, she would bring him home something from the udon bar but he claims to not be hungry.

     Other times she'd think about her class. What could she be better off teaching them or the possible ways of explaining the piece of literature flung at her and her students. She sighs by the thought of working rigorously even on weekends but she thought as well about the upsides of it. She smiled at how most of them seemed to be happy and enjoying her teaching methods, and understand most of the material. She was proud that most of her students were hard workers.

     As she chewed on a piece of tofu. It was then she deeply thought of the other students she did teach. A specific period that wasn't necessarily the one with the best attitude. Fifth period to her was mentally straining. The infamous troublemakers of the school are in it. The kids who know yet are lazy to work, and those who have some redundant records. Asuna knew that even if she tried, she wasn't going to make everyone do what the school expects them to do.

     There was one student that was nothing like she had seen. A messy brown black haired student with soft black eyes. It reminded her somehow of her son's right eye, his father's eyes. For what it seemed, the student seemed to know what he was saying. When it came to text analysis, he was on the better side. He did what was told and never complained or whined on how stupid or difficult the work was. He sat there in utter silence, she could even remember exactly his voice as he barely even spoke besides when she asks him.

She let him do what he wanted as his grades were at best, yet English was his lowest grade with a C. Asuna wondered how could that be possible when the student had done all the work. It was then she realized how poor his communication skills are. He barely spoke a word and never even asked questions. She needed to at least help him with that.

A few weeks passed and the student came to her beaten up. As a teacher, she didn't know whether to leave her alone and let the school handle things. But knowing this person must have already done that, she led him into her classroom to clean him up.

     As she saw the bruises on the boy's face, all she did was look distraught at the sight of a child being mangled up like that.

     "You shouldn't be picking fights like that." She told him, "It'd be a waste for your abilities like that if they'd see it in on your record."

      "Maybe if I wasn't so tough on her." Asuna thought as stared down at her udon, "Maybe she wouldn't be like this, Shinonon."

      Ms. Kirigaya finished putting bandages on the boy and he left thanking her swiftly and running off.

She wish she could say that was the last time it happened but that was far from the truth. Haku would get into more fights occasionally and get beaten badly. She had him come in every time but it was the same silence and routine. The same argument she told the boy and the same gratitude he gave in return.

Asuna had enough and tried talking with Haku's counselor, only to say they'll get to it. She tried speaking with the principal only to be told that they'll look into the problem.