Brightscale Journal/Kenji

This article, Brightscale Journal/Kenji, is property of Kenji-Taichō. Permission is required to alter its content.

2022

December

December 21st.

You wanna know something? I’m pissed! My friends have been telling me to calm down for the last hour or so, but all that has done has made me even angrier. Why am I so angry? Loki. Yup. Loki. The dread-locked bastard who tried to rob two kids.

He reappeared today. Scared Akiye half to death. And I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there!

I thought writing something in this blasted journal would help me calm down. But it’s had the opposite effect. Screw this. Sometimes the only way to deal with a situation is to kick the living shit out of it.

When I’m finished Loki won’t ever think about annoying the twins again.

---

December 21st.

…… Here I am again, a little wiser than I was when I wrote what’s above. And I have my cage-fighting wingman to thank for it. I’ve scared myself a few times since this death game began -- the first was when I truly considered killing Loki, and this journal stands as a record to my struggle not to. The second was when I fully intended to follow it through.

Kusaka stopped me.

Turned orange to do it, but he stopped me. I’m fairly sure the punch he threw at me would have broken my jaw in the real world; we were outside town, so no anti-criminal code or purple barriers to impede him. He caused actual HP damage. And damn, I don’t think he held back!

Bastard! He really is a pain in my ass.

… But as I said to Airi, he’s my pain. And I count myself very lucky to have him on my side. Which is why it was just the two of us who turned him green again.

---

December 22nd.

The hypocritical bastard! Who am I talking about? Kusaka! Who else!? All his talk of letting Loki be, and what does he go and do? Tracks him down and turns himself orange! I don’t know where he got a paralysis knife from, but he tortured Loki for nearly three hours before I tracked them down. Kusaka brought him to the brink of death and then healed him right back up the slow way with potions, before partaking in a bit of repetition.

I haven’t told the others about this. How the hell could I!? They’d never look at Kusaka the same way again. As for Loki, I’m fairly sure he’ll be seeing Kusaka in his nightmares for the foreseeable future. I did, however, ask him why he did it. And do you know what he said to me? You’re gonna love this:

“You’re soft, Kenji, and I admire that. But I’m not. Besides, you’d have regretted doing it. I won’t. Something had to be done. Was I over-the-top? You bet I was. Do I care? Not one whit. Would I do it again? For you? In a heartbeat. And why? Because you’re better than me.”

It’s time I admit something I’ll never say aloud: Kusaka, I love you.

Edit: Gonna put these entries under an additional password.

2023

January

January 2nd.

The Brightscale family grew recently. A kid called Fujimaru who goes by the online name Raixas. Airi's been busting my balls about giving the kid a hard time -- and maybe I have -- but I can't help but see a little of myself in that kid. He's mature and thoughtful and the twins have taken to him like a duck to water.

AA: How is it he reminds you of you? The only similarity I can see is that you're both male.

Edit: See what I have to put up with? So much for my so-called "private" journal. On the off-chance I survive SAO and publish my memoirs, AA stands for "Airi's Amendment". Yeah, my girlfriend is nosy. Lucky me.

IA: I knew I'd find something interesting in here! Girlfriend, eh? Good work, stud!

Edit: Why am I surprised that Ino would've worked out my password? Ugh. You guys don't grasp the concept of a journal, do you?

March

March 8th.

Ho boy, Airi hadn't been kidding. When she said she was going to give us all a good talking to, she sure as hell meant it. She just got finished ripping Kusaka and me a new asshole! I haven't felt so thoroughly admonished since old Mr. Yamashida gave me a dressing down back in my school days! But still, she was right. We've been acting like kids. So, after sleeping on it, I've had myself an idea.

Hair dye. The kid wants to feel more at ease, I'll make him feel more at ease. And they say actions speak louder than words. From today, my locks of black hair are now strikingly orange! I shit you not.

Goodbye quiet life, I barely knew thee.