Nobuyuki scowled into his phone, hanging up. Asuna had called, surprisingly enough, to finally inform him of Kazuta's inclusion into the beta-testing the two of them had nudged the girl towards.

And it was already the day of the beta launch.

Gritting his teeth, he glared out his window. Damn that girl. If only he could be in charge of the whole of RECT without the need of being engaged to that brat...

He wouldn't of minded being married to the likes of Kazuta. At least she was a level-headed, quiet and thoughtful beauty.

He didn't even mind about Kazuta's debilitating condition. In his opinion, he'd more than be able to help her through it. He wouldn't even need the help of the likes of his irritating fiancée.

Even better though, he could create a gilded safe haven to keep her in, keep her gentle and fragile self from harm...

The thought put a smile on his face and made him feel how good a match he could be for Kazuta. If only she wasn't so fascinated by his old classmate and rival though. Whatever she could see in the boring and unemotional person that was Kayaba, should be easily eclipsed by his own magnanimous offerings to her.

Hm, once this beta-testing was done, he should take Kazuta out, this time without Asuna tagging along.

~*~

Her chest was tight still and her breathing was hard to manage. Despite her shock at having the Kayaba Akihiko there in front of her and trying to help her, she was still in the midst of her panic attack. She was unable to focus on him and her eyesight was losing focus as she choked on her breath and felt her eyes let loose a few tears.

"Come here, Miss," he said softly, gently pulling her up and bringing her into the building. "Remember, even breaths."

She did her best to level her breathing, feeling herself struggle. For a brief moment, there was noise of a crowd and then it disappeared as the two of them entered an area that was silent. Feeling the jolt that signified an elevator, she realized that's what they'd entered and why there had suddenly been no more noise after their initial entrance into the building.

From there, with her eyes still shut tight, she felt him lead her off and then heard a door open and close.

"Better?"

She inhaled deeply and opened her eyes. Her breathing was still off, but she was no longer having trouble with it. Still, she shuddered as she saw the large meeting room, empty save for them.

"Here, have some water," and then a glass of cold water was softly pushed into her hands and she took small sips from it, her body calming down but her mind still wavering and wanting to make her run from that room.

It was unfamiliar and not her home, a place she was keenly used to isolating herself in.

Turning to her helper, she finally caught a clearer view of her idol. He was taller than she'd thought he'd be, all long limbs which seemed to suit him and not look lanky. He was wearing a long, white lab coat, which mostly covered his semi-casuals and stopped at his knees. His brown hair was messy on top of his head, the ends of his short hair spiking in different directions. His metallic colored eyes looked kindly at her from his spot near the meeting table.

"I suppose you already know who I am, but an introduction is only polite, isn't it? I'm Kayaba Akihiko, but you may call me Akihiko. How're you feeling now, Miss?'

She examined herself. She wasn't fine. She was never fine outside of her home, not since her grandfather's death. Maybe even before that. While her body was moderately calm, her mind was aching to be home and in the safety of her room or even the dojo.

"I'm...better," she said. "But not okay," she decided to admit. His eyebrows furrowed and she bit down on her lip. "I'm supposed to be here as a beta-tester. It's just...I didn't think about how my issues with leaving my house would interfere and I should never have applied for this."

"Hmm," he looked thoughtful. "By leaving your house, what do you mean?"

"I guess I'm a hikikomori? That's what people call me when they talk about me," her shoulders slumped. "I'm normally a shut-in, someone who can't step outside of her home without freaking out and having a panic attack...like what you saw. I hadn't even meant to come here —my mother thought I'd regret not doing this and being here, after I told her I'd changed my mind, and somehow got me to come here without me figuring it out."

Her eyes darted around the room and she started to feel uncomfortable, already close to crying again.

Akihiko stepped directly into her line of sight.

"Why don't we head to your testing room?" He smiled slightly, soft and gentle like his expression. Focusing on it made her feel calm. "I bet having you in the game will take your mind off of this and you'll find that you won't be upset or having any problems being here."

Not sure of that, she allowed him to take her arm and wrap it around one of his, moving into place like a gentleman as he led her out of there.

"Close your eyes and I'll get you there in no time," he murmured.

She did and then they stepped out of the room.

"My name's Kazuta," she whispered shakily. "I like being called Kirito though."

She'd never admitted to anyone that she'd preferred her online handle, though she'd never told anyone what it was anyway.

He patted her hand. "Kirito-san, I promise I won't lead you astray, so bear with me for awhile."

Being this long outside of her home was really hard, but she squeezed onto his arm harder and nodded.

Maybe she could learn to endure out here.

~*~

Akihiko glanced down at the girl that had a death grip on his arm, watching her look terrified as her eyes stayed tightly shut. He'd only briefly was able to glean a look at her eyes earlier, dark blue and clearly haunted.

He'd just arrived to the beta-testing site when he saw her, crumpled to the pavement like she was in pain, and his feet had already turned and moved towards her without thinking.

It was...actually quite odd of him.

He just couldn't leave her be, especially after seeing her in the state she was in. While it was abnormal of him to be quick to react to something like this or care at the level that he actually had, he couldn't quite define the mix of emotions that went through him in seconds when he saw her, prompting him to hurry to her side.

But he was there now and he'd made her a promise that he fully intended to carry out.

"Kirito-san, we're here," he told her, seeing the hallway full of rooms to be used for beta-testing. "You'll be in Room 221, which is closest to the elevator," he told her, in case she ever made the distance on her own.

He walked her over to it and opened the door, startling the doctor and nurse inside. He gestured to the girl beside him.

"This is Kazuta. I'm assigning her to this room," he told them.

"Ah, yes! Understood, Kayaba-san," the doctor said.

"They'll set you up here," Akihiko murmured, feeling her tense up as he untangled their arms. "Keep your eyes close and you'll be inside the game soon enough."

"...Okay," she answered shakily.

He gestured for the doctor to take her and he watched closely as he and the nurse started to set her up to use the NerveGear and enter the game. He was pleased the two of them took the time to explain every little thing they were doing, further calming and distracting Kazuta.

Once she was fully set up and had been immersed into the game, he finalized things with the doctor and nurse, and then set off for his office in that building. At his desk, he contemplated calling for Rinko, but his best friend was busy with the other testers and would be busy for much of the day. That's fine. He could handle this himself.

Settling in front of his computer, he searched the database of collected beta-testers they'd recruited, searching Kazuta up. From her profile picture, he could more clearly focus and see the elegant lines of her face, the way her dark blues stared out from her picture solemnly. Her slender appearance reminded him of fairies, an odd thought that made him remember an old classmate...

But it made him think of his creation too and the idea of having fairies introduced into his world, mythical and elegant —just like the girl he'd run into. Idly nabbing his sketchbook from his drawer, he flipped past several pages of a floating castle and began sketching at the same time as he continued to peruse the bio in front of him.

Kirigaya Kazuta (Kirito? What should he consistently think of her as?) was 15 and about to turn 16 next month, her birthday on the 7th of October. No known allergies, Mother's name was Kirigaya Midori and Father was Kirigaya Minetaka (both listed as emergency contacts).

All the forms were signed and accepted, with nothing to hint anything was wrong.

Not that there was really anywhere to put in being hikikomori.

Still though. He was much more convinced she had agoraphobia, which was much more severe, he'd imagined. It would probably be best to look up her symptoms and what else could be helpful to put her at ease.

Akihiko glanced down at his sketch, not really surprised to find the likeness to Kazuta. She was the inspiration for the fairy-inclusion after all, so it was probably more than logical and expected that the prototype draft came out looking like her.

Perhaps, at least, a Queen Titania should make an appearance in the final version of his creation...