Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

"Ah? Eat? I won't go today."

"Is that so? Let's go then."

"Wait, where's Miss Asuna?"

"Klein..."

Kirito pulled Klein aside and whispered:

"Look closely, Asuna."

"Ah, that's it."

Asuna was still holding onto the hem of Hachiman's clothes, a habit she had when she was worried about someone.

"Then let's go!"

The three of them left towards the busy street.

"Asuna isn't coming?"

"Ah, um, wait a minute, Kirito-kun!"

Hachiman, who had heard the conversation, thought Asuna was also going to eat, so he turned and walked towards the portal alone. Asuna kept an eye on his movements while running over to Kirito and thanking him:

"Thank you for guarding behind Hachiman-kun."

"As you should. If you don't chase him now, he'll be gone."

His vision began to distort, and countless bloody handprints appeared on the cave walls. Hachiman blinked desperately, only to see the faces of those he had slain crawling out of the shadows, giggling from their broken vocal cords.

"Welcome to... the real world..." These words kept echoing in my ears like a spell.

When Asuna caught up with Hachiman, she found him sitting on the sofa in his house. She had held his hand without knowing when.

"What's going on? Asuna, your hand."

"You missed the point! Finally coming to your senses?" Asuna released her hand and waved it in front of his eyes.

"What was my state just now?"

"No response, no matter how I called him. He looked completely distracted."

"That's it"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, now I remember."

"Is it really because of what happened today? You seemed the calmest."

"Maybe... the problem is being too calm."

Hachiman began to talk intermittently:

"I was certainly prepared before the battle, but actually killing someone was still painful. But after it was over, I suddenly felt like, 'Nothing special.' Death in this world is just a special effect, completely different from reality. But the thought of 'Nothing special.' is too terrifying, isn't it?

"I felt relieved, thinking I could reduce casualties. But is this really how you should feel after killing someone? A normal person should be more depressed and distressed. Only then did I realize that perhaps my heart was broken. Suddenly, my vision went black, and I couldn't remember anything after that..."

He sighed deeply:

"Asuna, am I still human now? Is this just a program? The real me has long been..."

"no!"

Asuna suddenly hugged his head and pressed it against her chest:

"Because Hachiman-kun is crying! Programs don't cry!"

"Hey? I... cried?"

Only then did Hachiman notice the wetness on his cheeks.

"So the current Hachiman-kun is neither a program nor a robot. He's the always calm and reliable Hachiman-kun who has a very low self-esteem, is afraid of trouble, and occasionally says weird things!"

"The second half is completely insulting me... But, it turns out I'm still alive..."

Looking at Hachiman, who seemed somewhat relieved, Asuna continued:

"It's just a temporary numbness, that's all. Everyone in the strategy group is more or less like this."

"Numb?"

"But as long as you can still cry, it's okay! If you keep getting hung up on this, I'll make you cry again!"

"This method isn't quite right...but please be merciful when the time comes."

(Perhaps it was because of Asuna's strength, which I lack, that I was able to maintain my composure until the very end.)

"Um, thank you for all the time."

"I'm the one who's been saved by Hachiman-kun, right from the very beginning."

After regaining his composure, Hachiman suddenly blushed: "S-It's almost time to let go..."

"Ah! Satyr!"

Asuna instantly jumped away and slapped him in the face.

"It hurts! I'm completely awake now."

"S-Sorry! But it's all Hachiman-kun's fault for talking nonsense!"

"It was you who first..."

"Ok?"

"nothing"

"But now you're sure you're still alive, right?"

"Ah, can you please use this 'confirmation service' again when you're confused next time?"

"Let's make sure it's just a slap, okay?"

"of course."

After watching Asuna leave, Hachiman touched his burning cheek and smiled bitterly. Although the tragedy had not yet completely ended, he was convinced that as long as the two of them were together, they could overcome any psychological difficulties - this might be the biggest gain of the day.

SAO: Chapter 50: Three men, one drama?

The three people who went to dinner together naturally had a heated discussion about Hachiman.

“Hey, you two have been friends with Hachiman from the beginning, right?” Klein said, holding a grilled fish skewer in his mouth, oil dripping down his stubble.

“Well, sort of.”

"How did you know each other?"

"I initially just thought he was interesting, not that I knew him well at first."

Kiel filled the wooden cup with mead. The honey-colored liquid shone beautifully in the firelight. "I started dating Hachiman and Asuna after they invited me to form a team at the first floor strategy meeting."

"Huh?" Klein nearly got a fishbone stuck in his throat. "No way! Have those two been together from the beginning? Do they know each other in real life?"

“No, I heard that’s not the case.”

Kirito carefully explained to Klein, "Hachiman is such a good guy! He actually rushed over to protect a boy he didn't even know! And then it turns out he's actually a girl. It's like a TV drama!"

Agil nodded in agreement.

"When I heard this story, I also thought this guy was so handsome."

"Yeah, it was a wonderful encounter."

“Holy shit!” Klein slammed the wooden table. “Or rather, if this plot were put on a TV show, it would be criticized as clichéd by the audience!”

"And so, Kirito, you've been hanging out with Hachiman, right? Is there any particular reason?"

Faced with this question, Kirito pondered for a moment and replied, "How should I put it... It feels very relaxing to be with Hachiman."

"Easy, you mean the combat aspect?"

The fat from the grilled fish dripped onto the table. Kirito pondered and explained, "That's one aspect, but the more important thing is...how should I put it? He doesn't pry into other people's hearts casually. That allows me to be myself and get along naturally."

"Maybe it's because you are all solo players," Elki pointed out the reason incisively.

"Well, maybe that's a factor as well."

"But can we always form a team just like this?"

"Well... I'm just happy. I could find all sorts of reasons, but this is what's most important. Even if I'm fighting with all my might, I can still trust him with my back. That's the feeling."

"Indeed, you two have an invincible aura when you team up. You work very well together. If you add Miss Asuna into the threesome, even Heathcliff can be killed instantly."

After Agil finished his statement solemnly, Klein added, "Speaking of combat, Hachiman is ridiculously strong in human combat!"

"I heard that wasn't his full strength. He said he was still lacking something," Kirito said to the two of them with interest, holding his chin with one hand.

"Speaking of which," Agil touched the scar on his bald head. "In that last encounter in the labyrinth, Hachiman's swordsmanship was like a cheat. Did you see that seventeen-hit levitation technique? The boss was nailed to the ceiling and died alive in the end."

Kirito silently pulled up the battle footage. In the holographic projection, the black-clad swordsman and the black-haired boy charged back to back, their swords weaving a dense silver web. Klein gasped, "That kind of synchronization must have taken ten years of living together, right?"

"Actually, we only team up for three hours every day," Kirito tilted his head and thought for a moment, "but that guy's sword always manages to fill in the gaps at the most tricky angles, just like..."

"Like they can predict your movements?" Agil suddenly lowered his voice. "I heard the Knights of the Blood Alliance have been asking about his skill tree configuration lately."

Sparks burst out from the fireplace, and Kirito tapped a rhythm with his fingertips on the hilt of his sword. "If those guys had seen Hachiman's special training..." He suddenly stopped talking, grabbed the bottle and took a big gulp.

Klein's eyes suddenly lit up. "Tell me more about it?"

"One night last month, I was leveling up on the fifty-second cliff." Kirito's voice was so soft it sounded like he was talking in his sleep. "I saw that guy fighting a frost giant alone in a snowstorm. Guess how he broke through his defense?"

They both shook their heads at the same time.

"He flung his cape over the monster's face, stepped on the icicles, and soared seven meters into the air. The tip of his sword slashed along the giant's spine all the way to its tailbone." Kirito gestured an S-shaped trajectory. "Finally, when he landed, he struck a super-chunky sword-sheathing pose."

The table suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

"And then?" Agil's Adam's apple rolled.

"Then he pulled out his little notebook and wrote down, 'Insufficient time to stay in the air during a mid-air change of direction, need to adjust center of gravity.'" Kirito held his forehead. "The most terrifying thing is that he then improved it into a continuous jumping slash attack."

Klein suddenly clutched his head. "Why isn't this monster considered a bug by the system?! It's a completely different type of monster from Kirito."

"Hey Klein, don't treat others like monsters."

"That was very Hachiman-esque! Kirito, have you been influenced by him too? Just like Asuna-san just now."

"No way... I can't deny it..."

"But that's the truth. Asuna-san has always been by his side, so it's normal for her to be affected."

Hearing this, Kirito gave a rather off-key answer: "Indeed, Asuna's fighting style may also be adjusted to match Hachiman."

"But speaking of coordination," Agil stroked the stubble on his chin, "Has Miss Asuna been adjusting her fighting style recently? Last time I saw her, she used a Z-dodge similar to Hachiman's."

Kirito suddenly choked on his wine, and a suspicious blush appeared on the tips of his ears: "She, she said she wanted to develop a new school..."

"Oh, a new school!" Klein deliberately dragged out his tone. "Isn't it called 'Pair of Winged Flying Swords' or something like that?"

"(1) Lin Yiqi IV Wu Ju Si? 〆 Stop talking about this."

"what is that?"

Looking at the bewildered Kirito, Klein explained with a sly smile, "Of course it's about relationships between men and women! Ahh—I also want to meet a wonderful woman like Asuna-san sooner rather than later!"

When I saw Asuna-san gently tugging at Hachiman's clothes just now, I was so jealous! And by the way, have you noticed that Asuna-san's frequency of tugging at Hachiman's clothes is getting higher and higher?

"Last Wednesday, it was five times, and this week it's already eleven." Klein pulled out a small notebook from somewhere. "By the way, Hachiman always sneaks the hem of his clothes five centimeters closer to her."

"Are you perverts?" Kirito almost overturned the table.

"How can being single be considered perverted?" Klein confidently pulled out his pocket watch. "And according to my 'Aincrad Love Observation Log,' these two have clearly fed each other blood vials thirteen times, and Ms. Asuna even made Hachiman's coat four times!"

Agil suddenly raised his hand and said, "I bet you five hundred, Kerr, that they'll definitely unleash a couple's fusion skill in the next boss fight."

"I raise!" Klein slammed his wallet on the table.

"Ah, okay... She does this sometimes, but she doesn't seem to realize it." Kirito brought the topic back with difficulty.

"No way! You don't even realize this? But Asuna-san is so cute. Agil thinks so too, right?"

"Huh? Ah, I'm already married in real life"