After a moment, Harry scrubbed at his face with his hands and uncaringly smeared blood, snot, and tears all over his face. He didn't know why he was crying at the drop of a hat just because he was suddenly wearing an Avatar that looked like his real body; he'd stopped crying years ago. Though, in truth, he'd been having trouble hiding his emotions ever since he'd started playing Ken no Sekai because he'd been happy living in Aincrad and exploring the various wonders that could be found in the many Dungeons. Only now there was nothing to be happy about; now the game he'd thought of as home had turned on him in the blink of an eye and it had hurt him.
As he sat shivering on the frozen ground beneath the nesting tree of a flock of Carrion Crows, Harry finally understood that he wasn't just playing some silly game. In that moment, the last of Harry's innocence was shattered as he realized that the rest of the world could be far crueler than his relatives ever had been.
It was not a happy revelation and Harry shook beneath the magnitude of negative emotions that swept through him as a result of his eyes being forcefully torn open. He let out a half strangled keening whine as he reached up and tangled his fingers in his hair only to cut it off the moment he heard the crunch of shifting ice and snow; a sharp reminder that he was not alone. Fear of being punished for daring to show any emotions (the Dursley's rules still deeply ingrained within his psyche) had him scrambling up onto his feet despite his pain as he slammed a mental door down on his inner turmoil and wiped his face of all emotion.
Once he was certain he was in control of himself, Harry glanced up and flicked his eyes between the two older Players before he submissively dropped his gaze back to the ground and held himself stiffly as he waited for one of the others to say something about his lack of control. He also suspected that he'd be yelled at by his friend any minute for his earlier fits when he'd tried to run away and for basically lying about his age all this time. And while his relatives had avoided touching him in general, his aunt and uncle hadn't been afraid to administer the occasional disciplinary slap when he broke the rules or did something they disapproved of.
So when he heard the snow crunch again and saw Agil's shadow move into his line of sight, he braced himself for the expected blow.
The nine year old was in no way prepared when Agil stopped right in front of him and wrapped him in his arms instead. Utterly confused and completely unused and uncomfortable with prolonged physical contact, Harry tensed up and stopped breathing as he tried to figure out what the hell was happening. They stood like that for several minutes before Harry worked up the courage to ask what was happening.
"Agil…? What are you doing?"
"What do you mean, what am I doing, gaki? I'm giving you a hug; what else could I possibly be doing?"
"Oh. I didn't know hugs felt so nice. I've never had one before and every time I saw my cousin get one he'd whine, complain, and fight my aunt so I thought they hurt," Harry confessed as he gradually relaxed and leaned into the man's embrace, pressing his face into Agil's stomach while his hands rose up of their own accord to grab hold of the dark gray coverall's that the man wore. The nine year old would later deny he snuggled with Agil whenever his first hug was mentioned in his hearing; he was a grown boy, after all, and grown boys don't snuggle.
"We should head back into town now," Kirito suggested in Japanese after several minutes had passed. "The Carrion Crows are regenerating rapidly and they'll soon have enough numbers to mob us a second time. On top of that, the sun has already begun to set; meaning we'll have Ravenous Wolves to deal with on top of the thieving birds."
"Right, hold on, gaki; I'm going to use a Transport Crystal to take us directly back to Hajimari no Machi."
As the blue pillar of teleport magic wrapped around Harry and Agil, Harry's magic (what little of it remained) reached out to identify the gaming code that was wrapping itself around his soul (delaying their arrival by fifteen seconds). By the time they reappeared at the Gate Plaza in Hajimari no Machi, his magic had incorporated the new 'spell' into his limited repertoire of spells. That brought his official Spell Count up to nine; four Trap Spells (all variations of the Snare Trap that he'd used the night he hid in the stump), digging (from when he'd cleared out the stump), Dirt to Wall (also from his stint in the stump), Sprint (his mad dash out of the forest), the Sphere Blast (the attack that had killed the crows), and Teleport (the ability to move himself between any two locations).
Harry still didn't know anything about his magic though and would therefore not learn about the new spells he'd gained until much later in the game.
"What happened, Agil?" Kirito demanded worriedly as he rushed up to the pair of them. "I'd expected the two of you to arrive before me because the two of you'd left nearly a full minute before I did."
"Just the usual lag from Teleporting two people with one Crystal," Agil replied with a shrug of his shoulder; the older man just as clueless about Harry's magic as Harry.
Harry glanced up sharply at the teen's question as he recalled the delays he'd experienced when trying to use his Skills and had feared that the delay in their arrival had been caused by him right up until Agil brought up the time delay caused by multiple passengers using a single Teleport Crystal. He let out a soft sigh of relief that the delay hadn't been his fault (at least not completely) before he reluctantly stepped out of Agil's arms now that they'd arrived back in the city. He tried not to grow depressed over the sudden loss of warmth that brief period of human contact had provided (simulated though it was) as he shivered in the artificial winter wind that swept through the Gate Plaza.
Wrapping his arms around his stomach in a pathetic attempt to ward off the chill, he took another step away from his friend only for his legs to buckle on him due to his exhaustion; his new HP Bar (which was actually a Magic Point or MP Bar) still sitting dangerously low. Before he hit the ground, Agil swept him up in his arms and, for the second time in a single hour, Harry was shocked and confused over the fact that the man was willing to touch him; he clearly recalled how much his family had abhorred the mere thought of touching him (disciplinary slaps aside).
It was decidedly awkward to find himself being carried by his friend as Agil made his way to the upstairs apartment that sat above the small shop the man had recently purchased; Harry completely uncertain as to how he should feel about the continued contact since he'd lived almost his entire life without it. On one hand, it was warm and reassuring. On the other hand, he was highly uncomfortable with allowing another person to invade his personal space. By the time they'd reached Agil's apartment, Harry had given up trying to figure it out and had simply relaxed into the warmth; the nine year old half asleep in Agil's arms (and he was still not snuggling).
Harry lifted his head off of Agil's shoulder out of curiosity as they entered the apartment; in all the time he'd known the friendly merchant, he'd never been invited into the man's apartment (then again, Agil hadn't had the place very long and Harry had rarely stuck around for long when he visited). Unsurprisingly, the apartment looked much like the shop below; with weapons, armor, tools, and materials stacked haphazardly throughout the entire flat.
Harry couldn't help but snicker over the mess because it explained why Agil often had trouble finding anything. At the same time, Harry's fingers itched to organize the mess; the long years spent as the Dursleys' personal maid had made an impression upon his young mind and meant that he didn't like messes since he always got punished for them even though he never made them.
"Excuse the clutter, I haven't made time to finish moving the merchandise and materials downstairs into the shop or finish unpacking," Agil implored as he waded through the messes towards the bathroom with Harry still held in his arms.
"Uh-huh, that's probably because your shop is ten times worse than your apartment," Kirito drolly pointed out as he smirked at the older man.
"Not my fault so many Players come to me to trade and sell their extra Items," Agil fired right back over his shoulder as he set the nine year old back on his feet before giving him a gentle push inside of the bathroom. "Go take a shower and clean yourself up, James; it should help you feel better."
"Ah, so it has nothing to do with the fact that you dump things in the first spot you come across and promptly forget about them?" Kirito's voice called back from the other room.
Harry snickered softly over the good natured bickering between the two older Players as Agil shut the door behind him to give him some privacy. His amusement didn't last long though as he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He looked terrible; his shirt had been ruined and was soaked with blood, his pants were filthy, his hair was a tangled mess (though that was normal), his arms were streaked with fresh and drying blood, and his face was smeared with blood, snot, and dirt. Swallowing thickly, he turned away from his reflection and turned on the water to the shower before he used the Menu to un-equip his clothes out of habit; never noticing as his magic flared around him once again.
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