Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from the words that I write and the characters that I create. Credit goes to the original creator of the SAO universe; credits also to the creators and contributors to the Code Lyoko series and related works.
A/N: Okay guys, do not assume that because I'm making this rewrite of Code: Ragnarok into Reset Code: Ragnarok that I'm bringing the Code series back to life and continue Divinity or plan to create a Reset Code: Neptunia. No, like I said before, writing for this series was becoming painful for me to do and I'm not all that interested in continuing to persist. I'm rewriting this story because I wasn't all that fond of how I wrote this story, even with the updates I originally provided to fit in with the soft retcons in Reset Code Aincrad and Alfheim. I want my final sendout on this site to be something of good quality before I completely move over to Ao3. Because of that, I am rewriting this story from the ground up while keeping the core theme intact. I'm giving it the same treatment I did in Aincrad and Alfheim: Higher quality than the original, more content, and to an extent, different endings. Ragnarok will end the same way with Kikuoka requesting Karen's group to go to GGO, but I'm adding more content to flesh out the story more, which will feature both reality and a little mentioned MMO in my setting: Tirella. And with this in mind, Merry Christmas.
Along with my usual style of introducing realism into my stories to an extent, remember that, in the end, this is a work of fiction so things are not going to be perfect recreations, particularly with certain locations.
And let me say, in response to the idea of realism, I was doing some math to determine how much money was needed to care for the SAO players (in this setting) for over two years and let me tell you. The cost blew my mind, even when I was being very generous with the estimates, I honestly feel like it'd be something more in line with Matpat from Game Theory to truly solve, but I calculated the final numbers with the base being a five day patient visit costing about 10,000 dollars. My math is probably way off the mark, but I like to think I'm at least on a good footing.
For the 300 players who had been kept in Alfheim Online after SAO's completion and thus kept in their 'stasis', each of their medical costs ran up to roughly 10,210,000 dollars or 1,157,997,780 yen by the end of their 1021 day (aka 2 years, 9 months, and 17 days) tenure. In total, it ran up to around 3,063,000,000 dollars or 347,399,334,000 yen.
When you subtract the 300 players from the number of SAO survivors given by the anime at 6,147 (which comes to 5,847) which I am abiding by in this setting, their medical costs approximate at around 54,669,450,000 dollars or 6,200,499,680,100 yen for their 935 day (aka 2 years, 6 months, 23 days) tenure.
When you combine these numbers, it comes up to a whopping 57,732,450,000 dollars or 6,547,889,014,100 yen. Like I said before, I was being very generous with the costs, especially when you consider the currency difference between yen and dollars fluctuating almost constantly.
Real Life Standard Time: [18:15] August 4th, 2025
It had happened in what seemed like an instant. When we had helped XANA kill Sugou Nobuyuki, he followed through on his promise to devirtualize us from our imprisonment in Alfheim Online and return us to reality when I saw Katsuo, Sylvia, Kana, Haruka, Mamoru, Asuna, Keiko, and the other SAO players around me vanish one by one before I too found myself enveloped in a beam of light.
Moments later, I begin to feel my eyes flicker and slowly open and repeatedly blink as I find myself almost blinded again by the long LED lights in the fixtures on the ceilings, my hand slowly instinctively moving to shield them from the light, the skin on my person frail like I had been in a long shower. A few seconds then passed as I heard an unfamiliar feminine voice ring out from my right
"Nakamura-sensei, come quick! She's waking up! Karen Koizumi just came to!"
As I begin to move my hands toward the NerveGear on my head, wanting to pry the thing from me after spending over two years comatose, they are instead gently stopped by gloved hands, my eyes turning to see whom seems to be a doctor, wearing a mask covering much of his face which only allows me to see his brown eyes and hair, in this hospital based on what I had heard moments prior
"Please wait a few moments Koizumi-san. We need to make sure we can power down your NerveGear before removal. We want to make sure there are no hidden drawbacks Kayaba had hidden within it."
"O-Okay." I was surprised at how weak my voice was, though I suppose that I had spent years in a sort of a coma, it's to be expected.
As I spend these precious moments paused as the doctor worked to deactivate my NerveGear, thoughts beginning to form within my mind, the nurse gently opening my mouth as she poured some sort of beverage down through my throat
"Don't worry. This medicine is meant to help rejuvenate your throat and give you a little bit of strength."
"Erm, where am I? And what time and day is it?" I'm curious if XANA's devirtualization was instantaneous or if there was a delay to it. After all, I'm dealing with a sentient AI from a different world. I should keep an open mind and try to not to be surprised by unknown elements like this.
"It's quarter after six. August 4th, 2025. And you're in Tokyo Takanawa. We've been very carefully transferring patients from across the country here during the last couple of years, prioritizing on SAO players that were in remote regions to ensure they survive, at least, on our end, ahead of those in dedicated hospitals with high-end Wi-Fi. Few hospitals in Japan are as advanced as this one and the government provided us immense funds in exchange for housing you all. We used that money to maintain the equipment keeping you alive and transporting everyone to one place."
'Thank goodness. So the process was pretty much done instantly. But does that mean that Katsuo and the others are here?' Once I see the doctor remove my NerveGear and take off the IVs that had connected me to the machines around me after shutting them down, my amber hair quickly fell out and covered half my face, feeling it reaching down to my lower back. The sight made me remember that my hair had been dyed to green prior to me being trapped in Sword Art Online back in 2022, little surprise it had faded out since then. God, my teachers were so pissed that I had done such a 'rebellious' act when I made and lost that old bet with Makoto and while my parents did support me, they did share their own disdain for the decision. Geez, I can't believe he tricked me into making that bet! He was so smug when he said he could last five minutes underwater before he had to resurface when I was so sure he would only last thirty seconds "If I may ask, did our families have to pay a majority of the fees?"
"They contributed, but a good amount of the money actually came from multiple juggernaut companies and philanthropy groups who generously provided the government with funding or equipment like Wi-Fi signal boosters to help in transporting our patients without disconnecting them from the game. We even had hackers helping by redirecting bandwidth from various computers during transit to this hospital. Technically their methods were illegal since they were stealing it from city networks but we urged the police to overlook this case since they outright said they were doing it solely to ensure the SAO players made it to hospitals where they'd be safe. They had no qualms being arrested for this, but they refused to let this injustice go unanswered. This coalition of people called themselves the SAO Incident Victims Rescue Force, and later on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication rebranded the coalition into a proper agency known as the VR Crimes Division. But what surprised us all is that a majority of the money we needed came from thousands of people across the world who had been flocking to a GoFundMe project led by a woman called Miharu Yoshikuni. She made a video explaining she dodged a bullet, but it came at the price of her losing her younger sister to the game. She reached out to her fanbase to make sure the players are not forgotten. She refused to allow even a single person to die because of complications on our end though sadly acknowledged that getting all ten thousand players out of the game was impossible, since, no matter what, players die in MMOs. But she was adamant on ensuring the people who survive the game would not die."
'Well, it was nice that this person was making sure we were in the world's eyes-' "But why did she care so much? Was it only because her sister was in the game?"
"No. She did it because she was a beta tester herself, but switched with her sister for a day. It was a guilt complex since she would've worked to lead her fellow players."
"Eh? W-Wait. Did I say that second part out loud?! Oh boy...my senses are not exactly aligned right now. So...Yoshikuni-san was a beta tester like us? Did she ever reveal what her avatar's name was?" I could feel my cheeks burn a crimson red out of embarrassment since I didn't want these thoughts to be made vocal but my mind is apparently having trouble maintaining this division right now.
"Yes she did. It was the name as the one she uses, or rather: used according to her recent videos: Puck. She decided to take up her sister's avatar after her death to honor her memory: Elwing."
'Elwing? So that Salamander girl who was working with Katsuo is called Miharu Yoshikuni. Huh. That's new information. Anyway, she was Puck?! She was part of Tenmongaku with Keiko before it was wiped out on floor 33. So that was Yoshikuni-san's sister. I think I ran across Puck during the beta test before I met Katsuo. Yeah, I remember now. I thought I was ahead of the crowd because of how much I knew because of how Koizumi Designs was contracted to help design the world alongside Kayaba, but Puck was a pure MMO veteran, through and through. Any sort of edge I thought I had, she had at least four. She pissed me off so much it crossed over to when I met Katsuo. I'm glad he wasn't angry at me because of how poorly I treated the guy, especially when he had recently lost his parents at the time.' I mentally shake my head since I want to stop thinking about the past right now and focus on my immediate surroundings "Erm...are the remaining Sword Art Online players here?"
"Yes. If you're awake now, the others should be too. I informed the other doctors to get to their rooms to make sure they're stable."
"Would I be able to see friends that I made during my time there? They left the same time as me."
"Normally it's against regulations to reveal our patient information, but this situation is unique. Do you know the names of your friends? Or should we try working with your avatar names?"
"I know their real names doctor. We spent our time working together and really bonded enough to reveal our real names. The friends I want to see are Katsuo Viperia, Kana Shimuzu, Sylvia Miyagawa, Haruka Uchimaya, Mamoru Nakasone, Keiko Ayano, and Asuna Yuuki. There are others I know, but these are the people I want to see specifically."
"Ah yes, aside from Nakasone-san, Shimuzu-san, and Yuuki-san, those people are all in this wing. Would you like to meet with them?"
"Yes please. Is there a place I can go for that?" I stop when something suddenly had come to my mind "Erm, are my parents here?"
"Unfortunately, they left hours ago because of our visiting hour policies with the SAO players. But we'll contact them tomorrow morning since we want you to have time to readjust to being outside of virtual reality. In the meantime, I'll ask the other doctors to bring them to room A238. Could you bring out some leg braces Kobayashi-san?"
"Yes Nakamura-sensei."
After I see the nurse leave the room, my guess is that the leg braces are being kept in a centralized storage room here in the hospital, the doctor turned to face me "Here Koizumi-san, let me help you to a chair so Kobayashi-san can apply the braces when she returns." After taking my hand in his, he gently pulls me up and supports me as I walk toward the chair to my left and helps me adjust my body for the first time since before SAO "If you do not mind me asking Koizumi-san, do you know why you were so delayed in reawakening? Many of the SAO players came to three months ago but three hundred of you were still comatose. We do not know what was keeping you captive."
"Erm, yeah. We did leave Sword Art Online, but we were somehow transferred to a different VRMMO called Alfheim Online. I mean, I know who did it, but I don't know how he did it. I was able to rally nearly half of my fellow players to get us free."
"Alfheim Online? The game made by RECTO Progress? This'll have to be investigated."
Although this is something I want happening since Sugou imprisoned us for experimentation, I am worried that revealing this information could lead to Alfheim being shut down. I met good people during my time as a renegade before reuniting with Hikaru and the others and I don't exactly want to say goodbye to them like this. "Anyway, uh. Is there anything I can use for my hair doctor? I can barely see with it being this long."
"Don't worry, we'll be calling a few barbers to come for the rest of you. There is a salon is a few blocks away from here and can come in only a half hour."
The nurse returned after the doctor had finished saying this, carrying a pair of braces in her arms as she approached me to apply them around my legs
"Kobayashi-san, I need to make some calls. Could you bring Koizumi-san to room A238? She wants to meet some of her friends."
"At once Nakamura-sensei." With a nod of acknowledgement, she helped me stand from the chair I was standing in, keeping a hand on my back as she helped me walk to the door into the hallway "Are you glad to be back in the real world Koizumi-chan?"
"Yeah...it's been a long time. Over two and a half years. It feels pretty surreal when I had gotten so accustomed to being in Sword Art Online. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be back. But it was like a second life for me. One I actually found myself enjoying far more than what I had lived on this side." I found myself pausing as I felt a smile begin to emerge on my face "The people I worked with actually helped me grow as a person more than I ever thought possible. I'm glad I met the people I proudly call my friends, and I'm sure they feel the same."
"Well, I hope your first real life meeting is magical, no pun intended."
I let out a weak chuckle in response to this joke when I hear Kobayashi-san open a door and move the two of us inside
Real Life Standard Time: [18:45] August 4th, 2025
"You're here too Kobayashi-san? I thought it was a bit of a fluke that one of our SAO patients woke up out of the blue. So another woke up? That's such a huge relief."
"Nope. Everything's finally working out for the best Mieko-chan. So uh, who is that beside you? With his hair out, I can't see his face."
"It's Katsuo Viperia-san. He said he wanted to meet with some of his friends and I brought him here for it. I offered him a hairclip but he refused."
"Yeah uh. Who's that with you there? I don't recognize her."
I inaudibly chuckle since not even I recognized myself for a moment when I came back to reality and took a few small steps toward Katsuo, my legs feeling like they are being weighed down with 500 pound chains, and extend a hand outward with a bright smile, trying to arrange my hair in such a way to keep it from blocking my face though I am thankfully met with Kobayashi-san gently taking my hair in her hand and running it through a hairclip so it's no longer blocking my face "Good to see you again Katsuo. Heh, it's strange to say this since this is our first time really meeting each other."
With my hair no longer covering my face, I saw Katsuo's expression rapidly shift from confusion to relief to joy in the span of seconds "Heh, it really is strange Karen. So your hair is naturally like that?"
"Yeah, I lost a bet with Makoto a week before I went into Sword Art Online. The loser had to dye their hair green." I pause as I take a thick strand of hair into my hand "Oh, if you mean the length, hell no. I normally keep it around my shoulders at the longest. Nakamura-sensei said he had to make some calls, I only hope one of those involve calling barbers from a nearby salon to cut our hair."
"Yeah, I only meant the length, but the color made me think you were a different person. I was just too used to your green hair over the past two years."
"Heh, yeah. A part of me misses it, but at the same time, I like my natural hair."
"You know what Karen, I kinda have to agree. I kept quiet to be polite, but I had wondered why your green hair back in SAO seemed...off and not fitting with your features. Something about you having orange hair seems...right. It's weird."
"Meh, I get it." I pause as I turn to face the nurse that helped me walk to the room "I don't want to sound rude, but do you know when our friends will come?"
"They'll be here soon. We're just rushing about making sure all of your vitals are strong and grabbing leg braces. Honestly, we're struggling since half our staff went home. We had no idea you guys were going to be waking up when you did."
A few minutes passed and the rest of our group reunited in the common room, each of them looking almost exactly like how they did back in SAO, aside from the length of their hair. I'm surprised that Haruka looks the same since I had assumed Haruka dyed her hair like I did. I guess she took part in one of those hair treatment experiments that started in 2021 that adjusted a person's eumelanin and pheomelanin to produce more 'outlandish' hair colors with a special serum allowing almost immediate conversion from your original root color to what is your new hair. Unfortunately, I don't know how the process works exactly, it simply hasn't reached us since it's still focused around the European Union.
"If you all are okay with being left by yourselves, we need to go check on the other patients."
"Go ahead Kobayashi-san. As the eldest among us, I'll keep an eye on the kids here." As physically inept as we all are at the moment, Mamoru stepped forward to substitute the nurses' presence, so they can get to the others who are being reawakened.
With the nurses gone, it allowed us to ease up and reattain the level of casual we were far more accustomed to from all the time we spent in Sword Art Online and Alfheim Online "Heh, aside from Rika, Kazuto, and Hikaru, Senryaku is reunited in the real world. Although we've known each other for years, some longer than others-" My eyes shifted toward Haruka and Mamoru first, then towards Katsuo and Kana, both parties having known each from before the game whereas the rest of us would be considered strangers in any other circumstance "This is our first real meeting as Senryaku."
"Yeah, no kidding. Hey, speaking of Hikaru, do you think he'll be able to become a human again? I hate to think about the idea of him being kept captive in Alfheim Online."
"Not sure Sylvia. Remember that he's technically an AI-" As soon as I had started talking, I found myself interrupted when Nakamura-sensei entered the room with a few pants, suggesting that he had been running through the hallway
"Koizumi-san, I need all of you to come with me our lab. One of our lab technicians reported that one of our 3D printers has been hacked into and the adjacent computer is portraying your names."
"Uh-sure." I mutter in shock since I wasn't expecting the doctor to barge in so abruptly as I direct the others to follow after Nakamura-sensei along the pastel white walled hallways
After arriving in the lab Nakamura led us to, he directed us toward the large 3D printer at the end of the room, activated and generating something behind the tinted glass, a computer nearby projecting our names
"Huh. It really is showing all of our names, but why?"
Where we were all wondering the meaning behind our names being displayed here, Sylvia decided to take action when she voiced this question, and moved to sit down at the computer, staring at the screen with complete focus before she turned to face us
"Guys, something about this makes me think is Hikaru. He wants us to be here. I think he's being converted from software to an authentic person."
"Excuse me, but what exactly are you talking about?"
Hearing Nakamura-sensei almost immediately brought me out of the stupor of joy and replaced it with fear and concern, same with the others based on their uneasy expressions, my eyes darting toward each of my friends, hoping someone knows how to respond
Because of the delay between my glances and a proper response, it made me stutter out a weak response "Um er…"
Thankfully, I was spared from this when Mamoru stepped forward "Pardon me Nakamura-sensei, my name is Mamoru Nakasone, a close affiliate to the Uchimaya family who helped with Sword Art Online's security during service. This situation is a bit unique. You see, alongside the Uchimaya's daughter: Haruka Uchimaya here, I had an additional companion among the Uchimaya's more obscure contacts: Hikaru Murai, who sadly died during our time in the game. But because of our connection to the security systems, we were able to activate a single-run instance program to 'resurrect' him by converting into software and transferred him to my NerveGear. The Uchimayas must have modified my unit before I entered the game allowing for activation of software when I would be removed from the helmet in a safe manner, which is having the 3D printer here make him a new body. Now, before you ask, he wasn't here in Japan when the game launched, he was working with a bit of a backdoor Akihiko Kayaba-san created for us." I'm-I'm amazed at how easily Mamoru is lying here since there is not a single shred of truth in a general sense and he is doing this so well that if I wasn't involved in this situation, I would be outright believing him. He is covering his tracks so remarkably well it's scary. Especially when Mamoru and Haruka have told us that only the Uchimayas know the extent of their contact network and there's no way Haruka would tell the truth right now.
"Very well then Nakasone-san. Well, I suppose we do not need to worry anymore. I apologize for bringing you all here for such a trifle matter. The stylists will be here soon, so if you could return to room A238, we'll have one of them meet you there and begin trimming your hair."
"Thank you Nakamura-sensei, this long hair of mine is making me seem blind." Heh, just like Sylvia to make a polite remark sound rather blunt.
Real Life Standard Time: [19:45] August 4th, 2025
After we went back to the common room, meeting the stylist along the way, we were finally able to get rid of this obscenely long hair, the guys choosing to trim their hair down to their ears all over, whereas the rest of us had our hair trimmed to our shoulders or the middle of our backs, me going with the former since I don't like long hair all that much.
"Oh goodness, this feels incredible. Like, I don't have a word for how much I am relieved I can see normally."
"Yeah, I feel the same Kana. We look exactly as we did from before the game launched."
Once we were finished with the stylist trimming our hair, giving our thanks to him once he left, we saw a newcomer entering the room with a noticeable lack of the braces we are all wearing, with spiky maghony brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a uniform colored gray with clean white lines along the pockets, forming an upside down pentagon shape where the left breast pocket would be, a red and white necktie above a white undershirt, and striped pants. After taking a glance at us, he chuckles and salutes with two fingers. Similar appearance aside, I could tell from his posture that this is Hikaru.
"Good to see you guys outside of SAO and Alfheim."
"Likewise Hikaru, have to ask, how did you pull off that 3D printer trick?"
"Oh that's an easy answer Katsuo. Thank XANA for that. He tracked down this hospital when he ejected you guys, connected himself to the network here and when he gained access to the 3D printer, he used it to create me a new body piece by piece. He told me he doesn't like the idea of owing favors, he freed you guys and gave me a body this way so he's paid his due to us. At this point, XANA's long gone and returned to Alfheim, so the people here won't be able to track him down. By the way, the doctor told me what you told him Mamoru, thanks for the save. It saved me a lot of hassle."
"Don't worry about it Hikaru, I'm just repaying a favor I owe you. When things calm down, I'll call up some contacts to get you new identification since you were legally dead up until now. As far as anyone else cares anyway. Anyway guys, as much I want to catch up and all that, let's get back to our rooms so the doctors can start planning our physical therapy sessions and hopefully get us some food. I'm going to try making some calls and try figuring out what's happened during our time in the games."
"What about me? I don't need physical therapy since I haven't been in a coma like state like you guys."
"Just tag along so you can get used to your new body Hikaru." After Sylvia finished speaking, she began walking around him, her eyes fixed on him and chuckled when she finished walking "Not bad, despite coming out of a printer, you look completely indistinguishable from any other person. XANA must have had access to some damn good blueprints. Erm, just realized but what about you internally? You might want the doctors to run an X-ray to ensure you're clear. You know, your organs being in the right places."
"Good enough point I suppose. Besides, I'm going to need a lot of educational 'rehabilitation' to get by in the world."
"Yeah, but when all this is over, I want to spar with you, see how I fare against that new body of yours Hikaru."
"Well, let's get going and head back to our rooms so the doctors know where to find us."
"Sure, see ya later Karen."
Real Life Standard Time: [12:00] August 5th, 2025
A day passed and we were informed by the doctors that it is now visiting hours and the hospital was understandably swarmed with our families and friends rushing to see us all awake, the only exceptions to this event among my friends that I see are Mamoru, Haruka, Sylvia, and I suppose Katsuo in the truest sense, since Mamoru's family lives in Europe and wouldn't be able to get to Japan in such short notice, Haruka lost her foster family in SAO, and Katsuo lost his parents two years before the beta, but Kana's family is meeting both her and him, since they've always considered him family based on things those two have told us during SAO, though strangely Sylvia's family hasn't shown up yet, making me remember that Sylvia never talked about her family aside from her siblings which I always found strange but I simply chose to believe she just didn't want to talk about her family. Oh, and Hikaru too, but he's a special case since he's not even from this world but I beckoned those two to join me as I talk to my parents since I don't want them to feel left out, especially when I see Kana and Katsuo do the same for Haruka and Mamoru.
"I assume you know these two Karen?"
"Yeah. Mother, this is Hikaru Murai and Sylvia Miyagawa. They're very good friends of mine, we met in the game and we've bonded a great deal during the last few years. Sylvia and I have come to think of each other as sisters, she's saved my life so many times and never once thought of doing anything to the contrary. And it's not just pragmatism mom. Her words anyway." I then turn my head towards after seeing Sylvia's sheepish, yet proud, smile, clearly happy I found those moments worth sharing as I turn to face Hikaru "As for Hikaru, I suppose you can say he's pretty mysterious, but he's risked his life to protect me as much as Sylvia did. We revealed our identities as a way to strengthen our resolve, to ensure we make it back to reality one day and we've grown comfortable enough to use yobisute. I trust many of the people I worked with in that game, in fact, many of us began establishing 'imaginary' family units of people we knew well. My team evolved into one of these units. In fact-" I don't know why but I suddenly felt my cheeks grow hotter, immediately shifting my gaze away, though I saw my mother gave one of those mischievous expressions that suggest she knows me more than I know.
But what was supposed to be a joyous moment of reunion was ruined when a woman entered the room whom I suppose is one of our mothers, having an expression devoid of any sort of compassion as she surveyed the room, seemingly looking for someone but stops when her glance was fixed on Asuna and approached her
"Asuna, we are leaving. Now that you're awake, we can get you away from these deviants."
"Excuse me, I must be mishearing you. Did you just call my daughter a deviant?" Oh, that woman should NOT have said that word since it drove my mother into a frenzy and the other parents here in this room are just as furious at this base blanket statement implying we are savages to her.
"You heard what I said. Surely you know how many murderers have been released from that game. Who's to say whether any of these people are killers lying in wait."
"That is completely ridiculous! My little Kana would never kill anyone!" This time, Kana's father stepped forward to defend his daughter from this woman's insult.
"My husband is right. If you think our children are murderers to you, then your daughter is just as guilty since they were all in Sword Art Online." Kana's mother paused as she shifted toward Asuna who was utterly shocked by the comment "I hope you know I do not say this out of contempt dear."
"Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
"A conceited judgemental woman whose ego is hyper-inflated and incapable of recognizing any sort of positive in humanity, content to degrade us into mindless beasts?" Oh god, I had no idea my father was capable of saying something like this. My mother would kick his ass if he said anything even remotely close to this to her, yet he went all out without the slightest hint of hesitation.
Thankfully, before this crisis escalated any further, the door opened as a man wearing a US army uniform, the tag on it showing his surname of Amano, came in since I presume he heard what was going on from the hallway
"Alright everyone, calm down right now. We're able to hear these arguments from different wings." His gruff tone was strict and fierce, the ferocity frightening the parents from speaking in his presence.
"May I ask why a mere soldier is interfering in family business? This doesn't concern you."
"Normally so, but this situation is different lady. Lieutenant Nichiren Amano of the VR Crimes Division, a government agency, former a lieutenant of the US army in Okinawa. If you continue along this path you seem adamant on pursuing, I will forcibly remove you all from the premises and bar you from returning. It would only thank one call." This thankfully finally made this woman back down, especially when he presented his government ID "Now, per order from the agency, we've been tasked to keep an eye on you players and administer psychological meetings at a regular basis. That and request that you attend the school we are using in Nishitokyo. It's structured to support those of you that were still in school during the game's service. We've contracted some of the best teachers in the country to work there for the next four years."
"Nishitokyo? That's far away from where we live." The sentiment my mother brought up was shared by the other parents in the room, followed by me and my friends in turn.
"Oh don't worry about that. We're securing a number of apartment complexes near the school building for the students in our web. When the SAO players finish their physical rehabilitation, the students among them will be sent to these complexes to attend the school. As for the adults, the government will be working with them to readjust them to life on this side and either get them their old jobs back or similar employment."
"W-Wait a second Amano-san, that can't be cheap to do. Are you expecting these parents to foot the bill? I won't name names but some of us aren't capable of reaching out to these kinds of figures."
"Don't worry Nakasone-san, we're searching for sponsors to help cover the costs."
"If you need sponsors Amano-san, allow me to make some calls to people the Uchimayas know. I'll get you the funding you need. The Uchimayas have accumulated a lot of favors from people all over the world and as Haruka Uchimaya's legal guardian appointed by Amelia and Hector Uchimaya, I have a degree of legal authority to make decisions like this until she becomes an adult."
Hearing Nichiren say this seemingly defused much of the tension, coupled with the negotiations he was making with Mamoru, freeing us from the awkward situation Asuna's mother starting a fight with our parents when one last person entered the room. When I shift my gaze toward the newcomer, I see a teenage girl with bronze red colored hair and gold eyes wearing a school uniform I don't personally recognize, looking about the room until it stopped onto Sylvia
"B-Big sister!" Tears running down her face, the girl ran toward Sylvia and caught her in a tight embrace, sniffling and crying the whole time.
"M-Madoka. You came." Sylvia stopped talking as she moved her hands to the newcomer's back, pulling her closer and closed her eyes, a gentle smile on her face "You have no idea how relieved I am to see you again."
"Pardon me, but why did you call Tamika-kun by that name?" This question which came from my father confused me and apparently Sylvia as well, the suddenness of this had the girl immediately stiffen her posture as she slowly turned to face my father.
"K-K-Koizumi-san. Y-You're here too? Oh no…"
"Erm, father, do you think we could move this conversation to a more private location?" I could tell the situation was getting awkward so I tried to see if I could get me, Sylvia, this newcomer, and my parents to a quieter location with fewer people. After seeing my parents nod in approval of the idea, we begin to leave the room, though I sneak a glance toward Mamoru, who nods in acknowledgement.
After entering the hospital room I had been sleeping in during my time in SAO and Alfheim, we spread ourselves through the room
"Okay, Madoka, can you explain what's going on? Why did Koizumi-san call you Tamika-san?"
"It's-It's not a story I like but…" Madoka paused, head hung down low to avoid looking any of us in the face "Big sis, you were the one making ends meet for us all this time but you were trapped in Sword Art Online. It forced me to take steps I despise. I knew it would be dangerous, but I created a fake identity for myself set at an age that would allow me to work: Mitsuya Tamika and got employment at Koizumi Designs as an accountant since I was really good with just about any sort of math, in addition to how rapidly I learn things by doing them. I went so far and crafted an entirely new personality for myself to act as to do this. Tsubasa didn't approve me of making this decision but I dropped out of school like you did big sis. I had to do what was best for our family."
"Madoka, surely you understand how disappointed I am in you right now. I sacrificed my education to ensure you wouldn't have to. Why did you not go to Yoshina? We know her family, they were close to us and helped us plenty over the years, they would've tried to help. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand why you did it. I was stupid enough to get caught in Kayaba's trap."
"I couldn't. They moved away so I couldn't reach out to them since they were so far away."
After hearing Madoka's answer, Sylvia turned her head toward my father with a face of fiery determination, which I know was a stark contrast when I think about what kind of person she was when we first met. I'm sure that shy Sylvia was the one Madoka knew, but she simply isn't that person anymore. She's confident, unafraid to take risks to an extent, outgoing towards people she knows well, even more protective than ever before. My mind flashes back to our time in Alfheim when she went out guns blazing all by herself to save Muraoka, Kazuma, Ophelia, and Airi. Despite knowing she was going to be outnumbered, she still chose to go out and fight. More than once she admitted I had a hand in helping her grow into the person she is today and it's something I find myself feeling giddy about. As far as the world knows or even cares, we would be considered as nothing more than strangers who happened to work together in an MMO, but we've thought of each other as sisters ever since we reached Algade in SAO. In addition to her courage, her kindness is not to be underestimated. She was the unofficial leader when I was out of commission and she always ensured I was being cared for when Sugou was modifying me and the others. There was one or two nights I can recall, as befuddled as I was, her being by my side.
"Koizumi-san, I beg of you, don't punish my sister for something that's my fault. If there is blame to be given, it should be on me. How long has she been working for your company?"
"She was accepted into our employment about a week after the SAO incident blew up, so about 2 years and 9 months. Nothing about Tamika-kun's, I mean: Miyagawa-kun's resume had nothing out of the ordinary. When she started working at Koizumi Designs, she had an exceptional work ethic and inspired the rest of us to work just as much."
"Father, I think I know a compromise that can work for everyone here. Clearly Madoka-san had been working illegally at Koizumi Designs and should be punished for violating child labor laws, but if we go public with this, it'd be a nightmare for both parties. I think we should keep this in the dark. You know, quietly push her away and hire Sylvia to replace her." I stop talking for a moment to face Sylvia "Look, I want to be the last person to be doing something like thi-"
"Karen, don't worry about me in this situation. Finish what you were going to say. I can take it."
Even though I had praised Sylvia's determination before, I frown this time since this is going to affect her life in a sizeable way for the next couple of years as I return my gaze toward my father, sincerely going to regret what is about to escape my lips "Hire Sylvia with a five and a half year contract to Koizumi Designs, take half of her wage to compensate Madoka-san's earnings. Doing this should forgive what Madoka did."
Madoka went utterly wide-eyed as soon as I had made my proposal to my father to forgive what she had to the company "W-What?! Big sis, surely you-"
"I accept."
"Big sis?!"
"Madoka. Remember that I have to be the one in charge of our family when our parents went missing on that cruise years ago. Any fault is mine to deal with. Any mistake is mine to own up to. Koizumi-san, I may not be as good at math compared to Madoka's rapid learning, but I'm determined to do my best. I was Karen's best fighter and second in command, she can attest to how seriously I take my responsibilities. I'll juggle the job with my school work. Hire me when I finish physical therapy. I'll do my job virtually. You can have someone monitor me during my assigned shifts if you deem it necessary." I nod to attest to Sylvia's determination to help cover for her sister. There were times where I had to leave Senryaku in her oh so capable hands, more so when I began attending the leader meetings the ALF held and her position as XO oft had her leading our 'auxiliary' team in Keiko, Rika, Haruka, and Mamoru when I worked with Katsuo, Kana, and Hikaru, and in my absence, led the entire team. Honestly, if Kayaba didn't transfer control of the Knights of the Blood Oath when he did, I would've approved her request to leave Senryaku and form her own unit.
"Well, I suppose we can give you a trial run Miyagawa-kun. When you finish your therapy, I'll have you work as an unpaid intern for one month. If we believe you a good enough worker, you will be given an official job for the next five and a half years to fulfill your contract." Despite his serious words, he had a smile on his face, quickly shifting towards Madoka "Well Tamika, I'm sorry, Miyagawa Madoka-kun, when you come of age, I'd like you to return as your own self. You were an exceptional employee, we'll be sad to see you go, but I know we would be exhilarated to have you return one day."
"I-I'll...I'll think about it Koizumi-san, but my answer will probably be no. I don't think it'd be right for me to return to your company when I lied to you."
"Fair enough. Well, this situation is resolved. Let's go back to your friends Karen, Miyagawa-kun."
"Sure. Let's head back." I raise my voice so Mamoru can hear me, the glance I gave him from earlier being a signal to follow from a distance without arousing suspicion.