In SAO 2 did Asuna break up with Kirito?


I noticed that when introducing Shino to Asuna and Lisbeth, Kirito mentioned
them as his _nakama_. Why is that? Why is it that Kirito didn't introduce
Asuna as his girlfriend? Is this what is normally done by a Japanese couple?
Or did they broke up?




There is no reason to think so. When Kirito introduced Shino to Asuna and Liz
at the Dicey Cafe, the three of them were preparing to bring Shino back to her
hometown, where she encountered the gunman she shot and killed as a young
child, so that she could accept the consequences of her actions and overcome
her guilt of having killed a man. One typically doesn't revisit the scene of a
childhood trauma with just anyone, so Kirito, whom Shino already knew and
trusted through GGO, called Asuna and Liz his _nakama_ to tell Shino that he
trusted them -- therefore she should too. It was more important to convey that
Asuna and Liz were trustworthy rather than the fact that Asuna was his
girlfriend.




There is no reason to think so. When Kirito introduced Shino to Asuna and Liz
at the Dicey Cafe, the three of them were preparing to bring Shino back to her
hometown, where she encountered the gunman she shot and killed as a young
child, so that she could accept the consequences of her actions and overcome
her guilt of having killed a man. One typically doesn't revisit the scene of a
childhood trauma with just anyone, so Kirito, whom Shino already knew and
trusted through GGO, called Asuna and Liz his _nakama_ to tell Shino that he
trusted them -- therefore she should too. It was more important to convey that
Asuna and Liz were trustworthy rather than the fact that Asuna was his
girlfriend.

