Breathing Techniques in SAO

As Tomioka Akimi stepped out of the wooden house, the sky over Aincrad had already darkened.

Not far away, the main street of the starting town was lit up—not by electric lights, but more like smokeless kerosene lamps.

The orange-yellow glow gave an oddly warm feeling in this terrifying death game.

Akimi stretched out his hand, opening his palm to look at it bathed in the same orange-yellow light.

"It's unbelievably real," he murmured with a hint of awe.

After standing quietly for a moment, Akimi suddenly clenched that open hand tightly, revealing the lines on his palm, as if grasping the light from the streetlamp.

"Hoo, those beta testers are probably already close to reaching the third town on the first floor. I can't fall behind—I have to speed up." Akimi exhaled softly and whispered to himself.

He entered a shop to replenish the supplies needed for battle, preparing to leave the starting town and head to the next one.

Just as he was about to exit the city, a trembling figure caught his eye—someone sitting on a flower bed near an inn, arms wrapped around their knees.

Akimi slowly approached the figure.

As he got closer, he saw it was a slender player cloaked in a hooded cloak, tightly wrapped so that their face was completely hidden, not even their gender could be discerned.

The player noticed Akimi approaching and took a few cautious steps backward.

Seeing this, Akimi awkwardly explained, "Ah, sorry, I thought it was some kind of quest, so I came over."

The player didn't respond, turning their cloak-covered face toward Akimi.

Although their eyes were unseen, Akimi felt unmistakably watched.

Feeling his scalp go numb under that vague, piercing gaze, Akimi quickly waved his hand and said, "Ah, I'm not a bad guy... uh, I mean, I'm not a villain."

The cloaked person finally spoke up. "Bad people always say they're not bad. That phrase is as ineffective as a cop's 'Don't move.'"

Her voice was soft but carried a sternness — clearly a woman's voice.

"Hmm, that's true. Just saying you're not bad isn't very convincing..." Akimi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"So, what should I do to prove I'm not a bad guy?"

The player remained silent, and the atmosphere fell into a hush again.

"Well, never mind dwelling on that. Let's just get acquainted, okay?"

Akimi broke the silence. "I'm Tomioka Akimi."

Seemingly surprised by Akimi's shameless continuation to talk, the player didn't answer right away.

Just when even Akimi felt like his embarrassment was about to peak, the player spoke in a clear voice: "Asuna."

"Hm?" Akimi didn't catch it clearly and asked again, "What did you say?"

"My name is Asuna." Asuna repeated.

"Oh, oh, got it," Akimi quickly said.

"Hmm? Asuna?" His pupils dilated in shock on the spot.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Asuna asked, a bit puzzled.

"Ah haha, no problem, no problem," he said with an awkward laugh.

Asuna sensed something was off but couldn't quite tell what, so she just gave Akimi a suspicious look from beneath her cloak.

"Ah, by the way, you must be a female player, right?" Akimi changed the subject.

Hearing his toneless words, Asuna seemed a bit annoyed.

"What's wrong with being a female player?"

She stepped in front of Akimi, slightly tilting her head up to look at his face.

As she lifted her head, the streetlamp's light finally shone inside the cloak, revealing Asuna's delicate face.

In her amber eyes, her current emotions were clearly reflected.

Akimi stared at the beautiful girl with a hint of anger on her face, frozen in place and not even responding to Asuna's question.

He felt like the little deer in his heart was about to run him over.

Before, Akimi didn't believe in love at first sight, thinking it was just lust at first glance.

But now, he wanted to take back that view.

After all, people are always double standards.

Seeing Akimi zoning out, Asuna frowned and said, "Hey, I asked you a question—what's wrong with female players?"

Snapping back to reality, Akimi turned his face away awkwardly, trying to hide the flush on his cheeks, silently cursing NerveGear for being too realistic.

He tried to act nonchalant and said, "Ah, it's nothing really. I was just a little surprised."

"Surprised? Why would you be surprised?" Asuna asked, puzzled.

"Well, haven't you noticed? Female players in Sword Art Online are practically rare creatures. And girls as pretty as you are even more of a rarity," Akimi answered.

He gave his face a rough rub, trying to make himself look more natural.

Asuna pouted a bit and said, "Oh, so that's all it was."

Then, with a slightly scolding tone, she added:

"Still, comparing girls to animals is kind of rude, don't you think?"

Akimi awkwardly scratched his nose and hurriedly explained, "Ah, s-sorry. I… I didn't mean it like that."

The seriousness on Asuna's face didn't fade, making Akimi even more flustered.

His hands waved around in the air as if trying to use gestures to better express himself.

Seeing how awkward and embarrassed Akimi looked, Asuna suddenly let out a soft laugh and said gently, "Well, fine. I guess you really didn't mean it that way."

As she spoke, she pulled down the hood of her cloak, fully revealing her face.

After removing the hood, Asuna reached up and pulled her hair out from beneath the cloak.

So beautiful!

Akimi marveled inwardly.

Asuna's soft, chestnut-colored long hair swayed lightly in the air before settling neatly against her back.

Her fair face, with slightly upturned pink lips, gave off a gentle, serene aura.

Akimi was once again stunned, inwardly shouting:

This is amazing! NERvGear is the best! Sword Art Online is the best!

He was thrilled that NERvGear could feel so realistic—it made him momentarily forget all his earlier embarrassment.

Feeling the rising heat in his face, he didn't even need a mirror to know it was now redder than spicy crawfish.

He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

"Um… why aren't you out leveling in the field or resting at the inn?" Akimi tried to start a conversation.

Asuna turned her head away, saying nothing.

Seeing this, Akimi said softly, "It's fine… if you don't want to talk about it."

"It's not like it's something I can't say…" Asuna said quietly, lowering her head.

"I… I'm just a little scared. I couldn't fall asleep, so I figured I might as well not sleep at all."

Before Akimi could ask anything, Asuna continued, "Staying in this fake world… it makes you feel like reality has abandoned you."

She sat back down on the planter, arms wrapped around her bent knees.

"I've always been afraid… afraid of dying in this world."

"I was too scared to go out into the fields… so I've just been staying at the inn. I don't even know what to do next," Asuna said, her voice tinged with a hint of tears.

After a moment of calming down, she added softly, "Sorry… this is our first time meeting, and I'm already pouring out all my troubles."

"It's okay. And actually, what comes next is pretty simple," Akimi said with a gentle smile.

"Hm?" Asuna looked up at him, letting out a slightly dazed, questioning hum.

"I said—it's simple," Akimi said, his voice firm and full of confidence.

"All we have to do is clear the game and leave this world. Then, there's nothing to be afraid of anymore."

There was a glimmer in the boy's eyes as he looked at Asuna and said warmly, "As long as we're careful—step by step, slowly leveling up and honing our skills—we'll definitely clear it."

"If Kayaba Akihiko wants us to survive by clearing the game, then let's show him we can do it!"

Akimi said loudly. "If the ending was really meant to be death, he wouldn't have let us try to clear it in the first place."

"Rather than rot away slowly in the safety zone, I'd rather fight and try my best."

"Try… huh?" Asuna murmured, deep in thought.

"Yeah. That way, even if we die to a monster, we won't have lost to the game… or to this world," Akimi said with a smile.

"Besides, if we fight alongside our comrades and die protecting them, saving them… isn't that kind of romantic?"

The confusion on Asuna's face gradually faded.

She looked at Akimi's smiling face, and the corners of her mouth lifted as she said, "So chuunibyou."

"Huh? I thought that sounded pretty cool," the boy said, scratching the back of his head, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Hmm, not bad," Asuna giggled.

"It was actually kind of cool."

"Hehe." Hearing that, the boy chuckled proudly, then reached his hand out toward Asuna and said, "So, how about it? Join me?"

"Huh? Join you in what?" Asuna asked, puzzled.

"Join me in breaking through this world and returning to reality," Akimi explained.

"Let's clear this game together—and stop being afraid." With that, he sent her a party request.

Hearing his words, Asuna gave a soft smile and replied, "Okay, I got it."

Then she reached out and tapped "Accept."

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