Integral Factor: Ordinal Scale

Jaymes' Bane, The Storm Griffin

"I think it was too often that it was the three of us. After all, you called on us when KoB was in a bind. Don't you know how it looked being a boy with two girls? If glares could kill..."

"Hehe. Suko was saying how he admired that girls surrounded you, and I told him it's not that pleasant."

"It's only pleasant if you're... No, even that's not pleasant. That was the worst night ever. You two and the rest have ruined every dream a boy could have with multiple girls."

Asuna smiled and held Koharu closer to her as they crossed a bridge over the street adjacent to the park. "Oh, shut up. You are lucky to get one girl to look your way. And while we're going down that specific path down memory lane, I recall you saying you'll forget that night on the thirty-fifth floor. Seems impossible for a moron like you."

"Oh, I do my best to kill myself whenever I remember you in anything but armor, Flash. But by the Christian God's grace, Koharu's angelic presence blesses me to balance that disgust out. It's a miracle Kazuto and any guy could stand the sight of a Gorgon like you."

"Before you two kill each other," Koharu interrupted, feeling partially bashful by Jaymes' compliment and equally pissed it was used as an insult, "which boss do you think will show up tonight?"

Jaymes closed his eyes in thought. "Let's assume they're not gonna go too far up the ladder. Per the forums, the raids so far have gone in order, so Kagachi was the tenth boss again. If I had to guess on labyrinth bosses, chronologically, the next one is.........ugh."

"Ugh?"

Koharu cleared up Asuna's confusion. "The eleventh floor's boss was the Storm Griffin, remember? That's the boss where Heathcliff saved Jaymes. That's when KoB unofficially debuted."

Asuna clapped and exclaimed, "Right! I should have remembered you were almost bird food, hehe."

"That's not funny, I almost died!"

"Yet here you are, a nuisance to my life."

"Hey girls, Jaymes! Right on time!" As the trio walked down the steps to the park's entrance, they approached Klein and his friends. "Thanks for coming out tonight. I hope that text didn't wake you up or interrupt your practice."

"Oh no," Asuna replied, "I wasn't in bed yet. You caught me taking a bath."

"Yeah, I had finished practicing myself, bathed far longer than I should've, and ate dinner with my brother. It's all good; it gives me a chance to...why are you guys looking like that."

The men, Joshua included, all looked uncomfortable. Koharu processed what she and Asuna could've said to make them feel that way. When she realized the image of two beautiful girls—both of legal age across the world—bathing moments prior, plus they were still locking arms and had their bodies close, Koharu couldn't honestly blame them. Though it miffed her that Jaymes was blushing too, and she'd be damned if Asuna was on his mind after all he just said.

Releasing Asuna, Koharu elbowed her boyfriend back from dreamland, causing him to sputter out, "O-oh, um, yeah. Asuna and Koharu invited me along. I wasn't doing much, to be honest."

"Smooth, moron," Asuna chided, then glanced back at the older men. "You're missing one of your friends." True to Asuna's observation, Fuurinkazan was short one member. It looked like one of their tanks.

"Oh, yeah. We sent him a message, but he hasn't called back yet. How about you go on ahead? We'll jump in once he gets here."

"Okay. But you better hurry; otherwise, we'll scoop up all your points for ourselves."

"Hey, let's not be greedy!" With a wave, they passed Furinkazan and joined the growing crowd. They logged into Ordinal Scale and found a spot to sit and wait for the raid to begin.