Chapter Text
Friday comes a bit faster than Eugeo expects, which he’s grateful for.
Aki keeps him busy and on his toes with last minute tests and checkups, double and triple checking everything to make sure he’s in tip top shape. She’d given him her number and insisted he call either her or Higa if anything felt strange, and that Alice would know what to do in case of an emergency as well. He’s due back for another checkup in a few weeks, as per routine, but they’re going to have him come to their Roppongi office rather than all the way back out here to the middle of the ocean. Definitely much less of a hassle for both parties.
At night he dreams of Kirito—their time back together in Rulid, under the shade of the Gigas Cedar, breathing in the warm scents of summer. He’s always curled close to the black-haired teen, memorizing the line of his throat and the flutter of his eyelashes as he rests in the grass, the blades swaying softly in the wind. Eugeo wants him even more now, more than he’s ever wanted anything, and the girls pick up on his restlessness whenever they’re in a call. The teasing is relentless, but Eugeo’s used to it, having been around Kirito for so long. Kirito isn’t Kirito without his playful snark, after all.
Friday morning arrives and Eugeo barely even has time to eat before they usher him up to the top deck—and he should note he’s never been out in the open air before, being cooped down in the labs ever since he awoke. He has caught glances of the vast ocean deep outside the windows, and he usually has to take a steadying breath before his mind implodes from the sight. Underworld didn’t have any bodies of water this size, the largest being the rivers and lakes that flow throughout the region, so seeing the ocean for the first time had him swaying on his feet a little. Rinko had told him once that the ocean was the source of all life in this world, so to speak, and while it’s definitely overwhelming to think about it’s also fascinating. To think that all life came from the sea...something that spreads across the entire globe, branching out into millions of little pathways...
Eugeo’s snapped out of his thoughts when the wind buffers a little strongly, whipping his hair and clothing about. The sun is shining and the sky is pretty clear, save a few wayward clouds, and the smell of salt hits his nose. He inhales slowly, closing his eyes, and feels the warmth of the sun’s rays on his skin. It doesn’t feel exactly how it does in Underworld, but it’s proof enough that he’s here, that he’s alive. Reality is somehow more vibrant, crisper than it felt back home.
Can Kirito feel it too...? He wonders, idly, before huffing in embarrassment. He’d always thought that he and the black swordsman had this weird psychic connection back in Underworld, since they seemed to detect if anything was awry when it came to each other at the most convenient of times—but maybe that’s just him being a hopeless romantic. Ah, well.
Being out in the open air feels good. He is a bit unsure as to how they’re going to get from the middle of the ocean back to Japan, the country where Kirito and Alice are—but Higa had told him there was transportation to take him there.
This world is far more advanced than his own when it comes to technology, so he knows there’s such things as flying machines that take the place of dragons, and fast-paced vehicles that can travel a lot quicker than horses can. (The history geek in him is screaming at the massive evolutionary scale of this world and is begging to start digging into the books to read about all of the things he still has yet to learn, of the past and the present—but he can do that after he reunites with Kirito.)
Higa, Aki, and Rinko are already there, chatting idly. Rinko has several large bags at her side, and as Eugeo approaches them, followed by Lieutenant Nakanishi, who’d escorted him here, he also spots Kikuoka Seijirou standing among them.
To be completely honest, Eugeo isn’t sure how to feel about Kikuoka. He’s been made aware of the man’s position as the head of the Alicization project—practically his maker, his god—and Kikuoka is nothing but smiles and a seemingly genuine kindness, but something deep in Eugeo’s gut tells him there’s more to the story. He’s seen his fair share of secrets in the Central Cathedral, so it’s easy to detect that there’s more than meets the eye about this man. Even so, Kikuoka had eagerly ushered his revival and “recovery” period, wanting nothing more for him to join Alice and Kirito back in Japan.
Eugeo was beyond shocked when Kikuoka had earnestly admitted his fondness for Kirito, and that, despite the many many accusations Eugeo holds towards him for his creation of Underworld and his clear manipulation of all the artificial souls there, the blonde can tell Kikuoka’s being dead serious about said fondness. There’s a delighted spark in his eyes when he talks about Kirito, and if Eugeo’s reading the situation right, the two of them have been acquainted for quite some time now.
He can’t help but wonder just how many lives Kirito has touched in this world, how much of an impact he’s made on the people around him.
Kirito’s always been capable of moving people in ways that even Eugeo can’t explain—including himself. There’s just something so unique about him that inspires others to take action, and in the craziest of ways. Eugeo can’t say he knows anyone else willing to bend the rules to chop down an enormous, centuries-old tree with a sword rather than the axe that was entrusted to him.
How many other people have been roped into your crazy ideas...Eugeo wonders, smiling tenderly at the thought. He’s sure that anyone who knows Kirito has gone through some wild experience of the sort, his own friends included.
The adults finally seem to catch sight of him, their faces lighting up in anticipation. At least they appear to be as excited about this as Eugeo is. Alice had told him how closely they’d studied her reactions to things in the real world and found them highly entertaining. He’s sure he’ll be scrutinized the same way, but he’s honestly way too keyed up at the moment to really mind it that much.
He’s going to pay close attention to everything that happens around him from here on out, because it’s all brand new territory for him. He’ll absorb all of the information he can about this world so that when he meets Kirito again, he won’t be completely lost. Leaving for a new place almost feels a bit nostalgic. It was the same when he started his journey from Rulid with Kirito all those years ago.
Not much longer now. For the millionth time Eugeo reminds himself to breathe—it won’t do him any good to freak out now and destroy the weeks of progress he’s made with accumulating to this body. He’s not going to let anything stop him from getting to Kirito at this point.
“Are you ready, Eugeo-kun?” Kikuoka asks him with a bright smile. He’s dressed in a suit today, definitely not as casual as his regular yukata that he lounges around in inside the base.
Eugeo nods, finding that his throat is too tight with emotion to speak. He’s really doing this. He’s finally venturing out into the real world. At long last he’ll discover just what’s out there beyond the gray walls of the Ocean Turtle and the endless blue of the sea, what lies beyond Underworld’s very horizon.
“Don’t be nervous, alright?” Rinko tells him, her expression gentle. “I’ll be with you the whole time, so you don’t have to worry about doing this by yourself.”
He nods again, relieved. She’d already told him she would be acting as his escort to Japan, which immediately settled his nerves, but having her here refuting the fact comforts him, somehow.
He gazes around the deck, frowning. Just how are they going to leave this place, though? He doesn’t see any sort of flying machine that will whisk them away across the ocean.
Kikuoka seems to know what he’s thinking, for he grins. “Your ride will be arriving soon. But before that, I have to make sure—you remember everything I told you, right? Our little confidentiality pact?”
“Yes, sir,” Eugeo assures firmly.
It had been drilled into his head over and over already—the enormous secrecy of the Alicization Project (Eugeo still can’t get over the fact that their project ties in so closely to Alice’s name, her very existence), all of the laws and contracts they’re under, Eugeo’s body and the creation of his soul. He’s not allowed to tell anybody about his true identity besides those who already know and who Kirito chooses to inform, which is strictly limited to a very small number of people. Rath is a company whose projects and experiments need to be kept confidential, and Eugeo, being one of them, absolutely has to keep an oath of secrecy.
Not that he ever planned on spilling the details of his creation and Rath’s involvement in Underworld to anybody else in the first place, especially since he practically owes them his life and this fresh new start—but with this he’s locked in, and if he even utters a peep about the sorts of things they’re doing out here he’s sure he’ll be in big trouble. Kikuoka had seriously warned him that if word got out to any government agencies or research labs of just what exactly he is, he’ll be hunted down on all sides, by hundreds if not thousands of people for all sorts of different purposes. That was already enough to ensure he’d keep his mouth shut, but the clincher had been Kikuoka’s caution that he couldn’t protect Eugeo or Kirito if he were found out.
Eugeo already has qualms about being taken away to be studied and researched like some kind of lab rat, and not given the same kindness that everyone on Rath’s staff had treated him with. But the thought of Kirito getting involved—of being taken away from him yet again, or worse, of Kirito getting hurt trying to keep him safe—he absolutely can’t bear it. He won’t risk it, no matter what. For his own sake, and for Kirito’s, and Alice’s, too. And there’s the rest of their friends, as well. The amount of people Eugeo needs to protect has gone way up, but he finds that he’s actually quite happy about the prospect.
“As long as you’re quiet about how you really tick around outsiders, you should be fine,” Kikuoka says.
Eugeo opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by a strange noise in the distance. Looking up, he gapes when he spots a flying machine headed their way, soaring by using the strange propellers atop of it that circle around in a blur.
"Whoa," he breathes, blinking twice just to make sure he's not seeing things. The adults all chuckle to themselves.
"First time seeing a helicopter, huh?" Higa grins as he approaches Eugeo's side. "Just wait til you get to ride in it. It's fun!"
"We're going across the sea in that?" Eugeo asks.
The machine slowly lowers onto the platform, the rotors slicing through the air as it makes its descent. Eugeo's hair is buffeted by the wind it creates, and he takes a step back, nervous.
"It's perfectly safe, don't worry," Rinko consoles.
The blonde feels his cheeks warming despite himself. "Oh, I'm not worried about that or anything," he quickly clarifies. "It's just...different than I was expecting."
He honestly isn't sure what he was expecting, actually, but there's no way his imagination could have pictured anything close to what's in front of him now. Coming from a world of near-fantasy into something so high-tech and progressive makes it a bit difficult to envision anything more complex than Stacia windows and dragons for air travel.
Kikuoka laughs. "You're a smart kid, Eugeo-kun, I'm sure you'll adapt to this world pretty quickly once you get really immersed in it."
Rinko shares a glance with the older man, and then she smiles, fondly shaking her head.
"Kirito-kun's the exact same way," Higa adds, folding his arms behind his head. "Always one step ahead of the game."
Eugeo finds he has to roll his eyes at that. "Oh, please," he mutters, "it took Kirito ages to even grasp the concept of sacred arts. Not to mention the Taboo Index! Do you know how many times I had to drill all of the passages into his head? You think he'd be more inclined to memorize it, seeing as it was basically the guidebook to our very lives..." He trails off at the weird looks he's getting, and immediately swallows, his face pink.
Rinko looks mystified, yet somewhat pleased, too, as if Eugeo's rant were something to smile about.
"You really do get animated when you talk about Kirito-san, don't you?" She asks.
Immediately, Eugeo can feel his cheeks burn even brighter than before. "I-I—"
"It's almost like you become a completely different person!" Higa says with a little laugh. "Kirito-kun really does bring out the best in you, huh?"
"You must be pretty excited to see him," Kikuoka adds with a knowing smirk.
Eugeo looks away, too embarrassed to meet their gazes now, flustered for being so openly transparent with his affections. If they've caught on to his feelings for Kirito, how long will it take for the black-haired boy himself to notice once they reunite?
Considering Eugeo's harbored a crush on the black swordsman since pretty much the beginning, he assumes it'll probably take more than a few offhanded comments and longing glances for him to realize. Kirito's always been dense when it comes to romance—at least, Eugeo thought so, until he discovered Kirito's relationship with Asuna. Still, Asuna had told him that it took a couple dates with Kirito for it to really kick in that she liked him, and it wasn't until their shared near-death experience that Kirito had worked up the nerve to confess.
That's just like him, honestly, Eugeo thinks with a twitterpated sigh. He's in love with a real, genuine idiot. Kirito's definitely one of a kind.
Lieutenant Nakanishi heads over to the helicopter with Rinko to put her bags aboard, and Eugeo watches curiously as a large door in the side of it opens up. Rinko shakes hands with the pilot and they exchange a few words, too far away for him to hear.
"Let's bring your things over as well, shall we?" Kikuoka offers, and Eugeo scrambles to reach for his singular suitcase.
There's not much inside—a few changes of clothes, a little emergency kit just in case his body happens to have any malfunctions, hygiene products (and discussing that was very interesting, let him tell you), and some snacks in case he gets hungry later on.
Eugeo follows Kikuoka over to the platform, staring up at the copter with wide eyes. As Kikuoka and the pilot exchange pleasantries, Eugeo lifts his bag into the external baggage compartment and marvels at how easy transportation is in this world. He could fit all of his belongings in here—probably half of Rulid's! And just by looking at this machine, he can tell it probably travels a lot faster than even the quickest dragon.
His heart thumps in excitement. He can hardly wait to get on board and see how fast it flies.
"Alright, that should be everything," Kikuoka announces with a nod to the pilot. He turns to Eugeo and smiles. "Are you ready to go, Eugeo-kun?"
"Yes, sir!" Eugeo nods, almost a bit too eager.
The man laughs at him for the umpteenth time that day, but Eugeo can't find it in himself to really care. "Glad to see you're so enthusiastic. Well, then."
He offers his hand out to the blonde, who blinks, and then hesitantly holds out his own palm. Kikuoka grabs his hand and gives it a firm squeeze, smiling at him. Eugeo relaxes. The expression on Kikuoka's face is nothing but sincere, and Eugeo knows he can trust him despite his initial misgivings. Kikuoka really does just want the best for him, he realizes.
"Now, you be careful out there," Kikuoka warns. "And call us immediately if anything comes up, alright?"
"Yes, sir."
Kikuoka regards him amusedly. "Enough with the formalities, huh? We’ve known each other long enough. Just call me Kikuoka."
Eugeo can't help but feel like this is some sort of test, but he really doesn't have any reason to object. "U-um. Okay, Kikuoka...-san."
"That works," the man chuckles.
Higa approaches them next, having just said his goodbyes to Rinko.
“See ya, squirt,” Higa says, playfully ruffling Eugeo’s hair. “Be sure to come pay us a visit again soon, ‘kay?”
“Thank you, Higa-san. I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me,” Eugeo says meaningfully. Higa had really taught him a lot in his short time here, and helped him adjust to the technology of this world throughout it all. Eugeo’s sure he wouldn’t feel as nearly prepared to take this on without the man’s assistance. And, being one of the people who worked the closest with Eugeo ever since his revival, Higa’s begun to feel like sort of a parental figure to him, kind of like an older brother or uncle.
“No problem! Say hi to Kirito-kun for me, yeah?”
Eugeo lights up, the mere thought of even being able to say hi to Kirito at all making his heart rate skyrocket. “Absolutely!”
“I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to hear how we’re doing out here,” Kikuoka grins teasingly.
Higa snorts. “Oh, yes, I’m sure.”
The taller man smirks, apparently responding to some sort of inside joke, and then his gaze flitters back to Eugeo.
“Until next time, then,” he says.
Eugeo bows deeply. He can at least try to show them both a little bit of the overwhelming amount of gratitude he feels towards Rath. "Thank you for everything, Kikuoka-san, Higa-san.”
A quiet chuckle makes him glance back up. There's a soft look in Kikuoka's eyes—the same sort of softness they get when he talks about Kirito.
"You're a good kid, Eugeo-kun. Please be sure to look out for Kirito-kun, alright?"
Now that's an easy question, with an even easier answer. "I will," he replies, beaming. "I definitely will."
Kikuoka gives him one last pat on the shoulder and then he’s being ushered into the helicopter, where Rinko is already sitting on the opposite side. Eugeo settles down next to her and buckles himself in, swallowing down a bout of nerves. The first leg of his journey is beginning, and he can’t help but feel a strange sort of anxious anticipation.
“Give us a call when you land, ‘kay?” Higa calls from below. Rinko gives him a nod from where she’s peeking past Eugeo in the seat.
Lieutenant Nakanishi hurries over and slides the door shut, locking them in. Eugeo looks out one last time at Ocean Turtle—at the birthplace of his world, of Underworld—and can’t help but feel a little bittersweet.
No matter how many sorts of painful things he experienced, or how cruel his fate was, he still loves Underworld, still loves Rulid, still loves his family and all of the friends he made while he was there. He can’t lie and say he’s not happy about leaving it behind, because he’d much rather travel worlds by Kirito’s side than stay comfortable and safe within his own (and even that wasn’t a guarantee, seeing as how he ended up dying), but he will miss it, he’s sure.
His homesickness never truly went away even after arriving in Centoria, which he found strange. He does have a fondness for Rulid, but it wasn’t like it was the ideal place to grow up alone in. He wasn’t exactly treated like royalty there, either—scorn was a constant reaction from people around him—and without Alice or Kirito, every day almost felt like a chore rather than something he faced eagerly. Still, his faded memories of childhood are what makes up for all of that. The summers he spent running around with Kirito and Alice, their afternoon naps together, their delicious lunches and their joyous laughter—that’s what makes it all worth it, makes Rulid worth remembering and feeling nostalgic for sometimes.
It’s not as if he can’t ever go back. He’s just not sure if he would, if given the choice. There isn’t really anything left for him to return to, not anything personal enough to warrant him to stay, anyway. Everything he truly cared about in Underworld already left. Kirito and Alice are waiting for him across the sea, and they’ve always been his true home. Wherever they are, that’s where home is. His heart is sure of that.
“Are you going to miss it?” Rinko asks, jolting him out of his seat. Eugeo laughs awkwardly, embarrassed, but he nods. Rinko’s shockingly good at reading what he’s thinking—she’s like the mother he never truly had.
“It’s weird, saying goodbye to the world I grew up in,” he confesses, a bit bashful. “But I probably wouldn’t go back anyway. At the end of our journey I knew there wouldn’t really be a place for me to return to because of all the taboos I’d broken...I was just considering escaping to the Dark Territory once we helped Alice recover her memories,” he winces, remembering how hopeless he felt about the idea at the time. “To be honest, I actually just wanted to stay with Kirito, but I had no idea he lived in a completely separate world.”
“I’m sure he was going to ask you to come with him, when the time was right,” Rinko responds, her tone light. “There’s no way he would have left you behind.”
Eugeo stares down at his lap and smiles, his heart feeling warm. He laughs a little. “I would have said yes in a heartbeat.”
Rinko settles back in her seat and closes her eyes, humming. “You’ll see. He’ll definitely ask you this time.”
“You think so?”
“You can give him a resounding yes when he does,” she answers.
She sounds so sure of the fact that Eugeo can’t help but believe her. Before he might have been frightened at how willing he was to just drop everything—his responsibilities, his family, his life in Underworld—to stay by Kirito’s side, but now the idea doesn’t scare him at all. Eugeo would follow Kirito throughout countless worlds if the black-clad hero asked him to now.
The helicopter’s engine starts up and Eugeo jolts, gripping onto his seat. He can feel the vibrations sending little shockwaves up his fingertips.
“Are you alright?” Rinko asks, and he nods, heart beating a mile a minute. It just startled him, that’s all.
The machine gives a weird sort of lurch and then they’re rising into the air, up, up off the ground, and Eugeo presses his face to the window to watch as the platform leaves them.
They’re flying! They’re really flying! The distance from the ground is becoming dizzying at this point, but Eugeo’s too thrilled to look away. Being a newbie to air travel, especially of this kind, makes everything seem so exhilarating.
Kikuoka and Higa are waving goodbye from below, so Eugeo waves back at them, grinning. What a strange pair. He wonders what Kirito thinks of them.
It isn’t long until they start to move forward, speeding away from the Ocean Turtle and above the endless spread of the sea’s waves. Eugeo doesn’t dare take his eyes off the sight, watching in utter fascination as the sunlight sparkles and reflects off of the water.
“What do you think of the ride, Eugeo-kun?” Rinko asks him.
He finally glances back at her and bites his lip in embarrassment—she’s clearly amused by his reaction, just as Alice predicted.
“It’s, um,” he squeaks, “it’s really interesting—we’re going so fast! Ocean Turtle is already so far away. How does this machine work, exactly? I noticed the blades on top of it earlier, does that help with the direction or the airflow?” He can’t help the questions pouring out of him, and hopes she doesn’t mind. He’s always had a hard time quelling his curiosity when it comes to situations like these.
Rinko smiles, but it’s sincere, and she folds her hands in her lap before answering him.
“To be able to fly, there has to be a lift,” she explains. “Helicopters have propellers—rotors—that spin very quickly in order to achieve a lift that can be controlled. And there’s an engine—fueled by gas, our world’s main form of energy—that gives it speed and makes it go forward. The pilot uses a lever that’s attached to the rotor blades to control which direction it travels in.” She pauses, thoughtful. “You’ve used a form of air travel before, right?”
"I mean, I've been on a dragon before...technically..." Eugeo says, wincing when he remembers that it was less like a ride and more like he was being scooped up to be taken away as dinner. He probably shouldn’t mention the fact that he was chained up, either. "Anyway, this is obviously a lot different..."
“Understandable,” Rinko chuckles. “Underworld doesn’t have any complicated machinery that runs on steam or gas, so I can see why you’d be surprised.”
“It’s incredible,” he breathes. “I could have never guessed something like this existed. It must be so useful!” He gazes around the main compartment, nearly starry-eyed. “How long have helicopters existed in this world?”
This question catches Rinko off guard. She blinks and narrows her eyes, seemingly trying to recall.
“I don’t remember for sure...but they’ve definitely been around for a good fifty years, if not longer.”
Eugeo inhales quietly, shocked. “This world has existed for a very long time, right? For thousands and thousands of years.”
Rinko shakes her head. “Go higher. Billions of years.”
The numbers all mix up and jumble together in Eugeo’s head—but that’s definitely a lot; far, far longer than Underworld could ever hope to exist. His world’s only been around for a couple centuries—compared to the vast history of this planet, Underworld’s barely even in a stage of conception, holding only a mere fraction of memories and experiences that this world has.
Rinko touches his arm and he jumps, startled. She looks at him worriedly, though there’s still a smile on her lips.
“Don’t think about it too hard,” she soothes. “I know it’s a lot of information to take in. You can study this world’s history all you like when you’re ready, but don’t overload yourself. There’s no possible way to learn about everything that’s happened in this world.”
Eugeo sighs and slumps in his seat. “What a shame...I’d love to know everything there is to know...”
Rinko chuckles quietly from beside him. “I’m sure lots of people share the same sentiments as you do. Now, I’m curious about the dragons in your world...do you mind telling me a bit more about them?”
The blonde graciously accepts the topic change, for his head had started to ache with the mere thought of just how large this world seems to be. He chats with Rinko for a while, reliving a bit of his past, sharing what he knows about Underworld’s very small history, and when Kirito is inevitably brought into the conversation, Eugeo gets flustered. Rinko doesn’t tease him about it as much as Higa or Kikuoka have, though, which is a relief, so he feels a bit more comfortable being open with his affections.
“You’re going to see him tomorrow, right?” She asks.
Eugeo’s heart flutters at the question and he bobs his head up and down, already getting nervous with anticipation again. “Y-yeah. Tomorrow afternoon, I think. There’s this bar that one of Kirito’s friends owns that the group all likes to meet at when they have big events in real life. Alice told me that they’re planning on throwing him a little party there, and I’ll show up to see him halfway through.”
“That sounds exciting,” Rinko comments, leaning her head in her palm. “How are you feeling about all of this, by the way? I know that everything’s probably seemed a bit rushed ever since you got in contact with Alice-san and the rest.”
Her concern warms him, and he shakes his head reassuringly.
“I’m okay,” he says, completely honest. “It’s definitely all felt like a bit of a blur, even since I woke up in this world...but...” He fidgets, suddenly feeling ready to burst with energy again. “I’m excited. It feels like it’s been forever since I saw Kirito last. Part of me doesn’t want to wait another minute to see him, but another part of me...”
He shrugs this time and reaches up to rub at the back of his neck. “I’m really nervous, which is ridiculous because this is Kirito we’re talking about—I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see me too. It’s just—things are so different here. Kirito already has a life and so many friends who support him, and I...I guess I sort of feel like a bit of an outsider, like I’m not—not supposed to be here at all.”
He looks over at Rinko, finally able to meet her gaze, and frowns anxiously. “Does that...make any sense?”
The green-haired woman nods, and when she responds, her voice is gentle.
“You were able to come back by a sheer miracle. I understand that suddenly being thrust into a whole new world would be alarming, and that you’re worried about coming back into Kirito-san’s life without any prior warning,” she says. “But you’re not giving yourself, or Kirito-san, enough credit. He’s missed you terribly, and I’m sure your presence will make things infinitely easier to bear for him.”
Eugeo releases a pent up sigh, his voice shaking. “Goddess, I hope so. I really hope so. I just want him to be happy. I’d do anything for that to happen.”
“Forgive me for being so bold,” Rinko speaks up, her eyes glimmering, “but I do believe that you hold the key to that happiness, Eugeo-kun.”
He sputters at this, his cheeks burning, and Rinko simply settles back into her seat, seeming pleased with herself.
“We’ve got at least a few more hours before we land,” she says, checking the time on her cellphone. “I’d suggest taking a nap if you can manage it.”
“Alright,” he mumbles once he’s calmed down enough. She has a point. He’d barely been able to sleep the night before, too jittery with excitement and suspense to really relax all the way. Taking a nap now might help him catch up on some sleep and make the trip go by faster.
Eugeo shifts and decides to peer out the window again for the time being. There really isn’t anything to look at besides the open ocean, but the waves are pretty, and the sky is clear and blue.
He starts to run imaginary scenarios over in his head of what he’ll do and what he’ll say when he sees Kirito again, but he’s sure it’ll all pale in comparison to the real thing. No matter what happens he knows it’ll be incredible, and no amount of daydreaming can really prepare him for whatever his partner’s reaction will be.
Eugeo presses his cheek to the window, the coolness of it soothing the flush that’s settled over the bridge of his nose. Overthinking it now won’t help anything, but his mind always has a tendency to run off before he can catch it and reason with it properly.
Maybe he should be thinking about what he’ll say when he meets the girls in person. That’s happening sooner than his reunion with Kirito, anyway, and something he’s not quite sure about either.
As Eugeo starts to wonder just how the evening will progress with their planned shopping trip and getting to swap stories about a certain reckless swordsman, drowsiness sweeps over him like a gentle breeze, and it isn’t long until he’s curled up against the back of his seat, drifting off into a contented sleep.
Rinko watches him and smiles. It truly was a real miracle that Rath was able to give birth to such a gentle boy in the first place, and to give him the experience of being part of the real world after all that he went through...well, she’s sure that Kirito above everyone else will appreciate it.
For now, she hopes Eugeo has only good dreams of the things to come.