Accel World: Crimson Storm Princess

by Reki Kawahara

  While he quickly approached, what he saw was different from Kuroyukihime’s view earlier, but was picturesque enough to hold his sight.

  Slender but muscular and tall. His face under his long front hair wavering in the light breeze was gentle and sharp like a Japanese sword. Leaning forward slightly, his right hand fingers moved in the air, he was probably manipulating a holo keyboard, that posture looked like a samurai sitting in a kneeling position.

  When the same aged boy noticed their foot steps and looked up, Haruyuki raised his right hand to wave to him.

  “Yo, sorry to interrupt your studies. But, you don’t have to study in such a cold place right, Taku?”

  Hearing that, Haruyuki’s childhood friend and brother in arms, Mayuzumi Takumu - that is Takumu, touched his frameless glasses and smiled.

  “Doesn’t the sunlight feel nice today? Haru, you should bathe in sunlight once in a while.”

  Then he stood up energetically and deeply bowed to Kuroyukihime who was behind Haruyuki.

  “Good morning, master.”

  “Un, good morning, Takumu-kun.”

  While nodding, Kuroyukihime had strong wry smile.

  “I have said it many times, although it’s true I am the legion master, you don’t have to always call me that.”

  “Sorry. But that is the best way for me.”

  With that reply, Takumu moved a step, and indicated the bench he was sitting on with his left hand. With another wry smile, Kuroyukihime sat down, and crossed her black stocking small legs. Then she raised one eyebrow and inquired Takumu.

  “Excuse us, but Haruyuki-kun and I will be eating lunch here, how about yours?”

  “Yes, I have already eaten.”

  Looking around, Haruyuki spotted a properly wrapped lunch box on the bench. Haruyuki remembered the cross colors, and made a jab at him.

  “That, is made by Chiyuri right? Then you two should be eating together!”

  Hearing that, Takumu also had a wry smile and answered.

  “We don’t have a relationship like Haru and master, where we can have a public lovey-dovey time in the cafeteria.”

  “I-it’s not love!”

  “It’s not love.”

  Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime denied with different voices, and Takumu laughed while pushing his glasses up with a finger.

  “You two look at each others eyes every day in the lounge while exhibiting a pink aura. I've heard that rumor even in my classroom. Well, never mind that... I have stopped being hasty. Bit by bit, I will pay back what I owe.”

  “...I see.”

  Haruyuki made a serious face and nodded.

  It was only two weeks ago, during the start of third school term, that Takumu had transferred to the local Umesato middle school from the school that he went to for seven years in Shinjuku.

  The original school that he went to included grades from elementary to university. When Haruyuki remembered how hard the young Takumu had studied to get in, he tried to stop Takumu once by saying it was such a waste. However, Takumu’s decision was firm.

  Even though Shinjuku is the territory of «Blue Legion», it was not that passive of a reason. For Takumu, his crimes - hacking his childhood girlfriend Chiyuri’s Neuro Linker to break the accelerated world’s rule for hunting Kuroyukihime, were too much for him. As atonement, he decided to use all his time to further her cause.

  Basically, he will stay by Chiyuri. And then, defend «Nega Nebulas»’s territory, the Suginami area till death.

  Put it in another way, Haruyuki thought that the glasses he started using this winter, was part of that decision.

  In the year 2047, using glasses to correct vision had lost its original meaning and became a part of fashion. This was because the Neuro Linker worn by many people functioned as a strong visual supplement.

  However, Takumu’s blue glasses were not a fashion item. It’s real with degree lenses. That is, Takumu became near sighted from studying paper media and panel terminals, and had stopped using the Neuro Linker as visual correction.

  Even for the Neuro Linker, it could not correct the actual light receptor pins in the flesh eyeball. Instead of that, the fuzzy image from near sightedness is composed with the Neuro Linker’s internal camera picture and digitally corrected in real time. That is, people in the world that use Neuro Linker as replacement for glasses, will have over half of their view being virtual images created by Neuro Linker processors.

  Takumu rejected that function, and decided to continue seeing the real world with his own eyes. The real Chiyuri, Haruyuki, and the real himself.

  Takumu’s feeling will eventually reach Chiyuri, who continued to behave in an awkward manner. And Haruyuki himself too, should have conveyed plenty of his feelings.

  That was what he wanted to say, but it was very difficult. Going back on his own words, Takumu too sometimes seems to be in deep thought.

  That’s right, he had eyes similar to Kuroyukihime’s earlier when they talked about the previous Red King.

  Haruyuki threw off his momentary musings and sat beside Kuroyukihime, opening the lunch bag he held.

  While he ate his cutlet sandwich, he again explained the situation to Takumu who leaned on the fence in front of them.

  After the wide eyed Takumu heard everything, he mumbled a short ‘Hmm’.

  “...What do you think, Taku.”

  “Hmm, I do not have enough data to guess what the Red King wanted to say to master. But, I might know what would happen if she had managed to continue fooling you for three days.”

  “Oh!”

  “Oh.”

  Facing Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime who both responed at the same time, his glasses’ lens flashed while Takumu continued.

  “With Haru’s personality, he would have warmed up a lot to the «Imouto» that he lived with for three days. Then, if that «Imouto» said ‘Actually, I am a Burst Linker. But since I am a kid, most of my hard earned points were taken by legion senpai with force. I beg you, onii-chan, come to my legion and protect me!’...”

  “Hey hey, that’s unreasonable.”

  Kuroyukihime shouted in an amazed tone.

  “No one would fall for that easy to see through trap. On the other hand you can easily see that you would lose all your points. Even Haruyuki-kun, won’t go that far...”

  Then she glanced at Haruyuki,

  “That... far...”

  And was speechless. Since she noticed that Haruyuki’s eyes were already wet with sympathy.

  “...Ar, are you an idiot!”

  “B, but... bullied, so pitiful...”

  At that moment, she extended her left hand, pinched Haruyuki’s cheek and pulled.

  “Wh, wha ar yo doin?”

  “Hey, let me say this now.”

  Kuroyukihime stared at him with shining eyes and murmured.

  “Momentarily changing legion, helping your «Imouto» then returning, that kind of cool act is impossible.”

  “Huh? Wha do ya mean?”

  Nega Nebulas’ legion master answered him in a scary voice while releasing his cheek.

  “You haven’t forgotten right? About how Takumu’s «parent» and other blue legion members who spread the backdoor program ended up?”

  “Err, well... I think they lost all their points... that is, their Brain Burst was forcefully removed as punishment, I heard...”

  To the head tilted Haruyuki, Takumu added from the front.

  “That «all lost», it’s not from fighting duels till all their burst points were taken. Actually that’s impossible to accomplish. After the first duel, when acceleration is canceled, if you disconnect from the Global Net or remove the Neuro Linker, then you can escape. After that, it will be similar to master’s situation, where you will be chased with a reward on your head.”

  “A, ahaa... I see.”

  “However, without going through something so troublesome, legion masters have a simpler way of «executing» subordinates.”

  “Wh... what!? I have never heard
of that!!”

  Hearing that for the first time, Haruyuki turned his head to look at Kuroyukihime beside him.

  The composed face senpai made an ‘Oh, that?’ gesture and opened her right hand.

  “It’s clearly written in the application document when you were invited to the legion, it was your fault for not reading it. Anyway, I won’t execute you. Of course, when you are unfaithful to me with other girls, that’s an exception.”

  Smile.

  While being looked at with that affection full smile, Haruyuki’s back became straight.

  “I, I won’t do it, there’s no way I would. B, but, I should learn of it for knowledge sake. Execution... basically, what does it mean...?”

  “Hmm, let’s see... well, it’s all right to call it a type of special attack. When a legion creation is requested to the system, the one who is registered as the master will obtain a command, with assigned user names. That is called the «Judgement Blow».”

  “Judgement...”

  Kuroyukihime looked away from Haruyuki who whispered that, she became more serious and continued.

  “Burst Linkers who joined a Legion, that is a team, obtain a lot of safety. Group battles have less risk and a more stable return. The price for those advantages is the existence of the «Judgement Blow». Joining a legion means putting your neck out to the legion master. The legion members who are struck with that blow, will instantly have zero Burst Points, and forever lose Brain Burst. The effective time frame is, while in the legion, and one month after leaving the legion.”

  “O, one month... that long?”

  “Un. That is right. If you fall for Red King’s social engineering and left Nega Nebulas for even just a bit to join the Red legion, then at that instant your... Silver Crow’s life or death will be the same as in their hands.”

  “Uuhee.”

  That was all he could say.

  Honestly, if he did not see that picture in his grandparent’s home server, he could not deny the possibility that he would believe the Red King was his second cousin Tomoko-chan. If they then spent two nights together, and he was put to the earlier Takumu guess of “I am actually”, he would probably have followed his feelings and joined the Red legion. There was almost no question he would have.

  ‘- However, still.’

  “...But, why?”

  Haruyuki whispered, and looked at Kuroyukihime and Takumu one after another.

  “Why, would the Red King do such troublesome thing...?”

  “Umu. After all, it’s where this question leads.”

  Kuroyukihime murmured.

  “Nn... She went that far to get Haruyuki-kun to join the Red legion and put the «Judgement Blow» on his neck, but that won’t give her Haruyuki-kun’s loyalty. For a member that does not want to belong to that legion, that would only be harmful without a single advantage. That means...”

  “That means, just once, she wanted Haru to do «something», right?”

  Takumu pushed his glasses’ bridge up with his middle finger while he continued from where Kuroyukihime left off.

  “If just once, he might listen with the threat... that’s what I think. If that is the case, then what she wants to say to master later in the meeting would be the same. Since her fake imouto act is found out, in exchange she changed tactics and is going for trade maybe?”

  “Fuumu.”

  After another low murmur, Kuroyukihime looked up at Takumu and said.

  “How to say it... you, seem to be in good shape.”

  “Wh, what? What do you mean, master?”

  “Like a glasses type character. How about we call Takumu-kun ‘professor’ from now on?”

  Clink clink, Takumu slip down the fence he was leaning his back on, and shook his head left and right.

  “N, no... thanks for the offer, but I will have to refrain.”

  Haruyuki desperately tried to control his laughter and said.

  “I... I too, think Taku’s deduction is correct. During yesterday’s fight, the Red King could have had complete victory over me but did not. In exchange, she said she wanted to meet senpai. That would mean, for the second best option she picked negotiation, to show her goal is not to be an enemy maybe...”

  “A bit late for you to say good things!”

  Kuroyukihime snorted, and changed her leg cross. She crumbled her empty sandwich paper bag in her hand, and over threw it into the waste basket a bit away.

  “Anyway fine, I will listen to what she has to say. At the very least, for the king herself to come while accepting «Reality Intrusion» means she has shit amount of courage, for a child. Haruyuki-kun, give the Red King a call. The meeting will be 4pm today, the place will be...”

  Kuroyukihime stopped there for a moment and stood up.

  She turned around, grinned and - .

  “Your home living room.”

  ‘Nooooit’stooearlyIhaven’tmentallypreparedandwe’repureandpropermiddleschoolstudents.’

  To that kind of confused refusal from Haruyuki, Kuroyukihime’s “The Red King is fine but I am not?” one sentence stopped him dead.

  Since Takumu had invited Chiyuri to go home together, and later go to Haruyuki’s house, that naturally left just Kuroyukihime and Haruyuki going home alone.

  She must be bringing her student council work home, while one of her hand is busy with the holo keyboard, she smiled and greeted many students on their way home. Haruyuki walking beside her took glances at her and desperately thought.

  ‘Let’s see, the living room, kitchen and toilet should be properly cleaned. I had bought tea and snacks as well. But the problem is my room. Especially the early era collection of Z type bloody games. If that was seen then I would have no foot to stand on from today.’

  ‘My room must be defended till death. Defend no matter what. Absolutely do not release the electronic lock.’

  With that decision, Haruyuki stared at his apartment that could now be seen pass the elevated Chuo Line[2].

  He entered the elevator with the usually nonvocal Kuroyukihime, pressed the button, and got off on the 23rd floor.

  After about 10 meters of public hallway, it will be his home’s door.

  “Ah... it’s a not especially interesting normal home. No pet either.”

  “I, I see. No, no problem. I don’t like animals that shed their fur.”

  With a cough, Kuroyukihime stopped next to Haruyuki.

  ‘Please, let nothing bad happen!’ With that prayer, Haruyuki touched the door opening dialogue in his view. Clank, the lock released.

  The moment he pulled on the door knob, he heard.

  ‘Zubararararara’, that kind of machine gun continuous fire sound and, ‘Gyaa - Help Me - ’, that kind of English screams and, ‘Uorya -, Die -, Go Die -’, that kind of girl’s shout.

  “Ugyaa - !!”

  Haruyuki also screamed, and while taking off his shoes, he stumbled towards the living room.

  What he saw there were, the previous era game hardware connected to the panel monitor on the wall, Haruyuki’s collection of Z type game packages scattered on the floor, and the shape of «Red King» sitting on the sofa cross-legged while holding a wireless controller.

  “Ho... how... my room... key...”

  To Haruyuki who mumbled after taking one step into the living room, the Red King glanced at him and said.

  “Ah, welcome home. Onii-chan, you have a nice hobby. I love this type of thing!”

  Next to the stood still, thinking frozen Haruyuki, a little bit dumbfounded voice echoed.

  “...Well, I don’t dislike it either. That era western games are philosophical, yes.”

  At about that moment, in the large monitor, an old guy that is perhaps a mafia boss was blown away while spewing blood.

  “Yes! Stage 5 cleared!”

  While looking down at the elementary school girl doing a victory pose, Haruyuki once more murmured without any strength.

  “How did you... the key...”

  Then, the Red King p
osing to the game finally turned around.

  She first looked at Haruyuki, then Kuroyukihime beside him, and smiled an angelic smile while shaking her twin red pigtails.

  “I told you that I got an instant key from Onii-chan’s mother right. With a bit of work, it’s easy to make it into a master key. But, don’t worry, onii-chan. I did not touch the other meaning of Z type software behind the reference books♪”

  ‘I am done for...’

  His school bag dropped from his right hand that no longer has strength.

  The Red King looked away from Haruyuki who was like that, and once more looked straight at Kuroyukihime. All the innocence left her expression.

  She put the controller beside her, raised both legs, and jumped impressively off the sofa.

  Her clothing, was no longer the pure white blouse and navy blue skirt that she had on yesterday. A crimson T-shirt with a zippered black vest above, cut jeans showing the base of her slender legs, and red black bordered socks that came to below her knees.

  And then, on her neck was a ruby like half transparent accessory, that is, the Neuro Linker shone brightly.

  The girl that was dressed like a flame had a sword like sharp smile, she walked a few steps forward, to the opposite of Kuroyukihime who was beside Haruyuki.

  As a counter, the black clothed middle school girl with no color, like a concentration of cold darkness, returned an aloof look and attacked with a smile.

  ‘Crackle crackle’.

  Seemingly blue white sparks were almost visible between the two, Haruyuki momentarily forgot about the disaster in the living room and slowly backed away.

  ‘- No way, they won’t just «duel» like that right?’

  While he looked on with that serious worry, the Red King put her hands on her waist, and said with her jaw held high. Her voice no longer had a single fragment of the earlier sister taste.

  “Hum, so you are the «Black King». I see, this is truly black, if it was night I wouldn't be able to see you right in front of me.”

  Kuroyukihime immediately crossed her arms and retorted.

  “Now that you mention it, you are truly red, «Red King». It would be interesting to see cars stop if you were thrown into an intersection.”