Asuna

I stared in the mirror in my bedroom for a long time. Yuuki would not want me to dwell on her death, but letting someone go is never easy. I switched into a flowing black skit with a light pink blouse. I grabbed my jacket and my purse as I headed toward the stairs. Kirito was, as he said, in the living room looking out the front window of our house watching the cars go by. He turned towards me as I stepped down from the last step.

"You look beautiful. Are you ready?" He walked towards me and wrapped his arms around my waist kissing my forehead in the process.

I couldn't help but blush. He was always so genital with me. It was hard for me to look in his dark eyes. They looked pained. Was it Yuuki's death that was causing him so much pain or was it me? Maybe it wasn't either. "Yeah I am ready…" I whispered.

He laughed a little bit. "Are you sure your legs aren't going to get cold on my motorcycle. It is a little nippy out tonight." His eyes traveled down to look at my bare legs.

"Humph for your information mister, I will be fine as long as you don't stare at them all night. Maybe I should go cover up!"
Kirito just laughed. "Ok. Ok. I should have never questioned you. Come on lets go."

Ridding on Kirito's motorcycle…. That was a new experience. I just hope my mother didn't see us leave. I left her a note on the kitchen table telling her where I was and that I would be back by curfew. I had to be back in cram school in two days and I knew she wanted me to stay on a good sleep schedule.

Kirito had given me his helmet. Currently he only has one and this one fits a little weird on me. If I blow out a big breath the shade over my eyes begins to fog up and it's the scariest feeling in the world to not know where you are going on a motor cycle. Good thing Kirito is such a good driver. He just likes to go a little too fast.

When we arrived at the restaurant Kirito helped me off of the motor cycle and hung up my helmet. We were just on the edge of a small market district with very high class clothing stores, a jewelry store and a sporting goods store. Kirito held the door to the restaurant open for me as I walked in.

"Table for two please, somewhere kind of private." I heard Kirito say behind me.

The hostess smiled and picked up some menu's as he walked us to a row of tables in the back of the restaurant. It was still early for dinner so we had the restaurant almost to ourselves.

Kirito pulled out my seat for me and after we got settled we started looking at the menu. We ordered a big boat of sushi and a pot of tea.

"So I got something I need to tell you." Kirito said as he sipped on his tea.

"You finally defeated the squishy squid that gets you every time we go swimming in the Blue Pool?" I smiled at him.

"Hey that's not fair he always gets me first because I dive the deepest." He laughed and tried to hide his shame. The squid gets him every time and usually I come save him but sometimes I let him struggle with it for a little while. "No Asuna this is really important. I got offered a job and a scholarship." Kirito looked sad.

"A scholarship and a job that is wonderful Krito!" Asuna smiled "Where at?"

"Asuna I don't think I can accept it… They want me to move to America." Kirito looked down at his tea. "They gave me a full scholarship at the Phronesis University and a job for a company called Central that works on programing for government projects. Currently they are working on something like the MediCuboid. They want me to be on the development and the testing team. This company has -"

"Kirito… Stop…" I couldn't take it anymore. "Kirito you have to go."

He looked at me dumbfounded. "What. Asuna I can't. I can't go now! I still have one year of high school left I am not ready for college and to move that far away from you. From my Suguha. I c-"

"You will be fine." I cut him off again. "How much did they offer you part-time, full time?"

"They said it would be about 24-36 hours a week plus the full ride and they offered to pay my travel and boarding for the first three months, but I really-"

"Yes. Yes you can." I bit the side of my cheek to keep my emotions in check. This was a big opportunity for Kirito. He's smart, talented, strong, determined and dedicated, no wonder they want him on their team. "When do they want you to leave?" I asked trying to hide the fear in my voice.

"They gave me a month to accept the position. They also gave me some addresses to some apartment complexes that I should look at." Kirito did not look at me. He stared mindlessly into his pot of tea.

I was grateful when the waitress interrupted us with our sushi boat. Thoughts swam around in my mind making me groggy and dizzy. I wanted to go with him, but how…. Could I transfer to the same college? Maybe I should stay here with my parents and go to school here.

"This sushi looks great!" Kirito said with a slight smile on his face.

We both dug into the meal. It felt good to be around him. He slowly started to smile more and loosen up. I tried to focus on the food that was in front of me. However, the longer we laughed, the longer we spent together. I realized what I truly wanted.

****Phronesis Greek for "Wisdom, intelligence, practical wisdom*******