[excited] Amazing, amazing! Hey Asuna, is that the thing they call a 'classroom'!?" The girl who had just passed through a school gate for the first time in her life shouted, her eyes sparkling in the morning light. The wheels of her wheelchair chirped cheerfully. The orange and yellow reflective tape glittered, bouncing back the gentle sunlight. I'm Yuuki. Sixteen years old. Starting this spring, I'd be attending the Metropolitan Kazahana Integrated High School on a trial enrollment basis. Oh, trial enrollment is a special program for SAO returnees like me. As long as you have a doctor's permission, you can attend school without taking the regular entrance exams. Well, honestly, I don't really understand the fine details of the system. Anyway, right now—! "[laughing] Waaah! A blackboard! A real blackboard!" "[gentle] Geez, Yuuki. Calm down a little." Pushing my wheelchair from behind is my best friend, Asuna. Today, her long honey-colored hair is braided at the sides and tied with a subdued ribbon. Her almond-shaped brown eyes were looking down at me with worry. Asuna is truly like an older sister. To make my dream come true, she handled all the procedures and everything for me. "[excited] Asuna, look, look! There are desks! And textbooks! This is just... amazing!" Bouncing up and down in my wheelchair, I looked around the empty classroom of Class 2-C. Morning homeroom had already ended, and everyone in the class had already left for a different classroom. But that didn't matter. Because I'd finally made it. To the place I'd dreamed of for so, so long. To the place called "school" that I'd only ever seen through a VR screen from my hospital bed. "[laughing] Ah, it even has a smell! This chalk-like smell!" "[worried] Yuuki, you really do look happy." Asuna's voice softens just a little. When I turned around, she was smiling gently. But I didn't miss the faint shadow that fell deep within her eyes. (Ah, there it is again.) Asuna is always like that. The more excited I get, the more worried she looks. She's probably more concerned about my body than anyone else. But that makes me feel just a little bit sorry. Because Asuna should have time to spend with Kirito right now. He's someone precious she fought alongside the whole time in SAO. And she's cutting into that time for me. "[bright] So, where to next? The cafeteria? Or the gym? Oh, I want to check out the school store, too!" So, I deliberately pretend not to notice. Bright and cheerful. So I don't make her worry. "[worried] Hey, Yuuki. If you rush around that much, you'll fall." "[laughing] I'm fine, I'm fine! I'm used to handling my wheelchair!" I put strength into both arms and pushed the wheels myself. Zoom. The wheelchair glides down the hallway. "[surprised] Hey! It's really dangerous!" Asuna's panicked voice chases after me from behind. Sorry, Asuna. But, right now. Just for now, I want to be as excited as I possibly can. Out here in the outside world, not in a hospital room. I want to feel like I'm truly alive. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ When we came out onto the covered walkway facing the courtyard, the chilly February wind stroked my cheeks. It's a little cold, but it feels good. Completely different from the air in a hospital room. In the center of the courtyard stands a single large zelkova tree, with benches placed around it. "[dreamy] This place is so nice." I stopped my wheelchair and gazed up at the tree for a while. The leaves had completely fallen, but small buds were already beginning to swell at the tips of the branches. "[gentle] You'll catch a cold. Let's head inside soon." Asuna gently draped a blanket over my shoulders. "[embarrassed] Thanks." "[gentle] You're welcome. So, shall we try the cafeteria next?" "[excited] Yeah! Oh, but before that, the school store! I want to try that 'yakisoba bread' thing!" "[surprised] Huh? Yakisoba bread?" "[excited] Yeah! Back in SAO, a friend named Klein told me about it. He said there's a legendary food at the school store called 'yakisoba bread'!" "[laughing] Legendary... well, it does exist, I suppose." Asuna giggles. Seeing that smile made me feel a little relieved. Because lately, Asuna hasn't been laughing as much. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Having secured the long-awaited yakisoba bread at the school store, my heart was bursting with emotion. "[excited] Amazing! There really is yakisoba inside the bread! They put carbs inside carbs!" "[laughing] That's exactly the point. This is the taste of school." We sat side-by-side on a bench, munching on the yakisoba bread. The sauce was a little strong, and the bread was a bit dry, but that was indescribably delicious. "[happy] It's good, isn't it?" "[gentle] Yeah, it is." Asuna said that, and her expression clouded over just a little again. (What is she thinking about right now?) Probably about my body. It's always like this. The more fun I seem to be having, the more worried Asuna looks. As if she knows that the happy times won't last long. (No, that's wrong. She does know.) Both Asuna and I know. That my illness isn't completely cured. It's a remission of unknown cause, and the viral load has just dropped below the detection limit for now. The doctor said so too. That it wouldn't be strange for it to flare up again at any time. "[bright] Hey Asuna, next I want to check out the library!" That's exactly why I have to smile. "[worried] How about after a little break? You've already walked around quite a bit." "[excited] I'm fine, I tell you! I'm still totally full of energy! Look!" I bent both arms and struck a pose to make a muscle. Even though my upper arms are very thin, my spirit is macho. And then I stood up—. Huh? The edge of my vision warped, twisting. "[faint] ...Ah." My body sways, tilting. Strength drains from my knees, and I almost collapse just like that. "[scared] Yuuki!?" Asuna hurriedly supported me. "[weak] Sorry... just a little... dizzy..." My head is spinning round and round. My heart is pounding a frantic alarm, but my limbs are cold and the sensation feels distant. (Ah, I've done it now.) I got too excited. I pushed myself too hard. Even though I knew better. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ "It's anemia. Looks like you pushed yourself a little too hard." As I lay on the bed in the nurse's office, the school nurse, Tomura Sae-sensei, said to me gently. She was a brisk-looking woman with short hair that suited her well. Thirty-eight years old. She's the person entrusted with managing the health of SAO returnees, and it seems she'd been informed beforehand that I was coming. "[serious] Konno Yuuki-san, right?" "[small] Yes. Please call me Yuuki." I shrunk back apologetically on the bed. "[serious] Yuuki-san. I've heard the details about your condition from your attending physician. You're currently in remission, but your immune system recovery is incomplete. Your risk of infection is more than eight times that of a normal person. If you push yourself, it wouldn't be strange for it to flare up at any time." "[small] ...Yes." I know. More than anyone, I know that. "[serious] Absolutely do not push yourself. If you feel unwell, come to the nurse's office immediately. You can rest even during class. I've already gotten permission for that from Sakuraoka-sensei as well." "[whisper] Yes. Thank you very much." After saying just that, the teacher softened her expression a little. "[gentle] But there's nothing wrong with enjoying school. Just... do it while consulting with your own body." "[small] ...Okay." When I gave a small nod, the teacher turned back towards Asuna. "[serious] Yuuki-san. I understand you're acting as her guardian, is that correct?" "[tense] Yes." Asuna's voice stiffens just a little. "[gentle] I have her emergency contact card. I'll contact you immediately if anything happens, so don't blame yourself too much." "[small] ...Yes." Asuna looked down and tightly gripped the hem of her skirt. Her fingertips were trembling ever so slightly. (Ah, I made her worry again.) It's my fault. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ After leaving the nurse's office, Asuna was silent for a while. Her hands pushing the wheelchair seemed somehow awkward. "[worried] I'm sorry, Asuna. For making you worry." "[quiet] ...No. I'm the one who's sorry. For not watching you properly." "[bright] That's not true! I was saved because you were here. Thank you." "[weak] But still..." "[cheerful] I'm all better now! So, next is the art room! Show me the way." I said it deliberately brightly. (I don't want to trouble Asuna any more than this.) (I have to smile. If I'm smiling, everyone feels at ease.) "[small] ...Alright." Asuna let out a small sigh and forced a smile. That smile somehow seemed painful to see. (I'm sorry, Asuna.) (Really, I should be the one moving around while properly considering my stamina.) (I got carried away and got too excited.) I apologized quietly in my heart. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The art room on the third floor of the north building was much more spacious than I had imagined. A large room, probably about forty square meters. Soft light streamed in through the large north-facing windows, and the room was wrapped in a strangely quiet atmosphere. Several plaster busts and many easels. Numerous paintings drawn by club members were hung on the walls, and the scent of oil paints drifted faintly in the air. "[whisper] Wow..." The voice escaped me involuntarily. The atmosphere is completely different from painting alone in the hospital all the time. This is a place where everyone creates something together. "[friendly] Welcome. Are you the student here for a tour?" Suddenly, I heard a relaxed voice. When I turned around, a girl who had been facing a canvas in the back of the room was standing up and coming this way. She has long, dull purple hair tied carelessly into a single bunch at the nape of her neck. Today, her bangs are down without being pinned, and her slightly sleepy, droopy eyes are a distinctive feature. "[polite] I'm Asahina Sonoko, a third-year. The art club president." "[excited] Ah, yes! I'm Konno Yuuki! Everyone calls me Yuuki!" "[calm] Yuuki-chan, right? Nice to meet you." Asahina-senpai said that and smiled softly. Even though her face was hard to read, it was a smile that felt strangely reassuring. "[shy] Um, I like drawing. Is it okay if I look around?" "[gentle] Of course. Feel free to look as much as you like." I moved my wheelchair slowly and looked around the room. And then—. "[frozen] ...Huh." An extra-large easel placed in the center of the room. Hung on it was a gigantic canvas, probably about 1.8 meters tall and 3.6 meters wide. It was still pure white. But that whiteness was, conversely, incredible. "[voice lost] This is..." My body starts to tremble. The back of my eyes feels hot. "[excited] What is this, it's amazing! You're going to paint on this!? Who!? When!?" "[amused] It's a collaborative project for the cultural festival. This year's theme is 'Connection.' Though we haven't even done the rough sketch yet." Cultural festival. Collaborative project. "Connection." "[bursting] Please let me paint on it too!" Before I knew it, I had shouted. "[excited] Please! I'm good at drawing! It was in VR, but I've been practicing all along! I absolutely won't be a burden!" "[calm] Sure. You can draw as much as you like." "[frozen] ...Huh?" "[gentle] You can just join the art club. Everyone is welcome." Asahina-senpai said it so casually. As if it were the most natural thing in the world. "[surprised] I-Is it okay? To decide something like this so quickly?" "[light] It's fine. The feeling of wanting to draw is the most important thing. There's nothing more necessary than that." Senpai said that and smiled softly again. Those words settled straight into my heart. (There's no