May breeze dreams

The doorbell rang. Kirito sprang up from the couch and opened the door to reveal a chestnut haired girl with a pained expression on her face. "Asuna?"

"Kirito. I want you to help me with something."

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Do you think you could create a copy of Yuuki's memories from the things she experienced and thought when using the Medicuboid?" Her words became quieter as she finished her sentence, until Kirito could barely hear her. He knew the death of ALO's best swordsman had hit Asuna hard. In the short amount of time that Yuuki had been alive, Asuna had been happier than he had ever seen her.

"I'm sure I could find a way to do that, but what are you planning on using it for?" Kirito asked. "I...I want to create an AI, like Yui," she answered, though she seemed to want to say more. Kirito's gaze softened. "Alright. But making an AI might not be the same as having the real Yuuki, you know?" Asuna grimaced, but then she composed herself and spoke in a clear, confident voice. "I know. I'm willing to face that, and if there are any technical difficulties, I will do my best to solve them." And with that, Asuna's wish slowly began to take form.

"Asuna, part of her memories are missing. We'll need to patch up some things that happened in her past. Did Yuuki ever talk to you about her past?"

"No...She only told me she had AIDS and that her mother and sister had died, also." She paused, "But I can go research her and try to find any of her relatives or acquaintances that may know."

"Alright. I'll work on creating the rest of her AI."

They were in Kirito's house, working on Yuuki's AI. Thirty minutes later, Asuna returned, laptop in hand. "I found that she had cousins who she visited often. They live on a ranch in the country, not too far from here. I could visit them and find out if they can help patch up the memories." The afternoon sunlight filtering through the windows made Asuna's eyes seem to glow with hope. Kirito thought she looked like a goddess, but then again he always did. "Eh? Are you sure? I mean, we could still make the AI without that information, it would just be missing some pieces."

"No, I want this AI to be as accurate as possible. I'm going to see her relatives."

Asuna knocked thrice on the door of Yuuki's relatives' ranch. The rain poured down, soaking the ground that Asuna stood on and hammering down on the roof of the ranch. Soon, a plump lady opened the door. She had brown hair and light grey eyes, like Yuuki, and was followed by three teenaged girls who also had brown hair and grey eyes. "Oh, hello. Did you need something?" Said the lady, smiling kindly. "Yes, actually. I'm a friend of Yuuki's. My name is Asuna Yuuki, and I-" Asuna paused as she saw the lady's grin slip for a moment. "I wanted to know more about her past and what she was like before she had to use the Medicuboid...Sorry if this is a bad time-you don't even have to talk about it if you're not comfortable."

"No, no, I was just...surprised. Anyway, come on in, I couldn't possibly leave a friend of Yuuki's outside in the rain!" The lady and the girls made way for Asuna. "Thank you. I don't mean to impose," Asuna stepped into the warm house.

The three girls introduced themselves to Asuna as Mei, Hana, and Emi, Yuuki's cousins. The older lady was Yuuki's aunt, Mariko. They lived together on the ranch and raised many animals. Yuuki and her sister Aiko had visited the ranch often when they were younger. "Yuuki was always...a very cheerful child, but she was shy-especially around strangers, and would often stick close to Aiko," Mariko chuckled, "They were very close. Even when Yuuki could play with other kids, she would always drag her sister along."

"Yes, I can imagine that," Asuna grinned, "And if she were here right now, I feel like she would dance in the rain, sing to the grass and trees, and come back home dirty and soaked. But probably not caring, even so." As she said this, she twirled around the room, eyes closed serenely, her face split only by her brilliant smile.

"You two were really close, huh?" Piped up Emi.

"I would like to think that," Asuna laughed.

"It's been awhile since anyone mentioned her, I'm glad she's not forgotten." Hana reminisced.

"Even though I- and many others- miss her, I know she will live on and won't be forgotten. At least, not for a long, long, time." A silence permeated the room, amplifying the sound of the rain drumming upon the roof.

Suddenly Mei interrupted, "Did you-Do you love her?"

"...Eh?!" Asuna blushed and gaped at Mei.

"It's written all over your face," Mei laughed.

"She told us she was straight the last time I talked to her!" Emi stated cheerfully, "But I'm pretty sure that was a lie. Even when she was a kid, she seemed to like girls."

"N-no, It's not like-I mean...I have a boyfriend!" Asuna exclaimed with much difficulty.

"Ah...poor Yuuki...Must've been hard for her," Hana teased.

"Now, now girls," Mariko stood between the girls, "Don't make our guest feel uncomfortable."

"Aw, okay..." The three girls said in unison.

And for the second time in a while, Asuna felt as if she had a family.

If this is a dream, I never want it to end.

From her trip, Asuna had collected many humorous stories of Yuuki's childhood as well as her relatives' impression of her. With this, she bid Mariko, Mei, Hana, and Emi farewell (and promised she would visit again), and set off back home. Asuna completed the AI and Kirito imported it to ALO. At last, she could see Yuuki again.

Asuna felt the cool grass against her feet as her Undine character landed gracefully in a patch of flowers. She stood in a very familiar place. A tree arced towards the sky, tall and strong. Multicolored petals filtered down and found a home on the expanse of small plants below. Plopping down at the base of the tree, Asuna brushed away the tears creeping in the corners of her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" A childish but sweet voice rang out in the peaceful orange morning.

And with those four words, a dam inside Asuna broke. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks and shone like stars in her palms, before disappearing. Slim arms slipped around Asuna's neck, and she felt a weight resting comfortably on her head. In that warm embrace, she laughed, tears still gleaming on her cheeks.

"You don't have to be sad anymore, because I'm here."

"I-Idiot, I'm not sad, I'm happy! So, so happy..."

"Mmm...I'm glad you missed me, Asuna."

Asuna turned around to look up at Yuuki with her tear-filled eyes, memorizing every detail. Her long, sleek purple hair, the color of an endless field of Irises, pale-peach skin, and crimson eyes. Wetness had started to gather in the Imp's eyes too, and soon both Yuuki and Asuna were bawling. "I really missed you, too! I never thought I would see you again. Even if I'm not the same person as before-Even if I'm just a fragment of the past."

"Right now, I don't even think I care. Maybe I'm being selfish, but I couldn't let that be your end, I wanted to hold you again, I wanted to talk to you again, I wanted to see you...so much it hurts." Asuna mumbled. "Yeah...I tried to be strong, but I guess that's not me," Yuuki sighed, pulling Asuna closer. "No, that's how you have been, in my heart. To tell you the truth, I wanted to be more like you. I could never confront my problems." Yuuki grinned, "I think you're fine just the way you are."

A red petal flitted down from the tree's branches and landed in the Imp's hair. Asuna leaned over her to brush it away. "You know, there's something I was never able to tell you in person..."

"What is it, Asuna?"

"I..." She hesitated.

Yuuki tilted her head, questioning.

"I-Yuuki, I love you. Do you also...love me?"

Yuuki's red eyes gazed into Asuna's blue ones. "You already know my answer, don't you..?" She whispered.

"I want you to say it, so I know that it wasn't all just a dream."

Yuuki leaned her forehead against Asuna's.

"I love you too, and ever since I first battled you, you've caught my attention. I never told you, because I knew wasn't going to be there with you forever, and you seemed so happy with Kirito..."

"Well...I do...I love you both, I don't know if that's wrong, and I don't want to hurt you or him. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

"I don't think it's wrong, but in all honesty, I'm kind of jealous..." Yuuki scrunched up her nose.

Asuna giggled at that. "You really shouldn't be."

The Undine pulled back slowly. "We'll work out something. I'm just glad- glad that I was able to see you again. For now, that's enough for me..."

The dream became reality then, even if only for a moment.