Nov 2, 2024, Floor 22
"Mmnn~" groaned Asuna as she rolled awake with her eyes closed. She felt a distinct lack of... something. What was it? ... Deciding to ignore the feeling, she rolled back with another mild groan and reached to hug Kirito. *Flump* Her eyes opened with a start. Kirito was gone! Slightly confused, her eyes immediately went to Searching mode and started looking for Kirito in the dark. She quickly found his footsteps and then got slightly confused and distracted at the large highlight on a nearby table. Turning off the vision momentarily, she realized it was a note.
Relief and worry immediately surged through her as she pondered why Kirito would leave so early in the morning, quickly glancing at the clock to confirm that it was indeed 5:17 am in the morning. She lept out of bed ignoring the cold morning air and read the note with haste, worried for the worst.
'Gone Fishing at the Big Lake'
'Bring Something Non-Spicy.'
'With Love, -K'
It took a moment for her to understand what this simple message was, then she held her face with one hand while she heaved a heavy sigh of both relief and irritation.
"Honestly... that kid..."
Forgiving him quickly for the silly single-minded lovable dolt he was, she smiled at the prospect of eating breakfast outside for a change. But Fishing? Did Kirito even have the skill for it? Well, she's sure that living next to this big lake all the time, and with all the fishermen we've seen around here, he must've thought he should give it a try too. She chuckled and thought outloud, "Monkey See, Monkey Do eh?" With a radiant smile, she pondered what to make for breakfast.
Non-Spicy hmm... Non... Spicy... At that thought, she suddenly remembered Yui eating the spicy sandwich she made for Kirito. Tearing up a little at the memory, she realized she'd reached for her necklace without even meaning to. Yes... she thought with a smile, Yui's right here...with a deep breath to calm herself, she decided to try something. "Yui, I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, Mama's thinking about you right now. I miss you, I love you. Mama'll be sure to make you something extra spicy one day." She ended with a giggle.
Suddenly she realized the importance of Kirito asking for nothing spicy. Maybe, just like how I remembered Yui when I thought of something spicy, maybe Kirito knew that something spicy would have reminded him of Yui and he wasn't ready to deal with it? A deep compassionate concern grew inside her. Even though Kirito had 'saved' her, Yui still technically died yesterday, and Asuna began to worry about his state of mind. Is Yui the reason for him waking up so early? Was fishing just an excuse for getting out of the house? She shook her head to clear these pessimistic thoughts. She was his wife now, and it wouldn't do to show him a sad face right now if he really was troubled. "Yo~sh!" With renewed vigor, she started making her trademark sandwich that she gave to him after conquering the taste of mayonnaise and soy sauce.
. . .
. . .
Her footsteps made soft noises that echoed lightly in the dim cool morning. Except for the insects making ambient noise, it was surprisingly quiet. She tried humming a little earlier, but found her humming too loud for where she was right now, so she just walked to the pier of the big lake nearby. It was earlier than she was used to and the morning air was chilly and still. She readjusted her white hijab that she got for disguise purposes to maintain their secluded marriage. It wasn't needed for this secluded fairly private path, but is had its uses for cold days like this too. She exhaled warmly and saw her breath become a cloud of fog. It sure is cold... Just as she looked back up, she finally saw the pier and the lake, and a small black figure at the end of the pier. She sighed warmly to herself as she wondered what the point of dressing in all black was if he always stands out. Her gaze softened a little as she became aware of how lonely he looked right now. Gripping her picnic basket tightly, she continued to walk softly. She did not want to simply walk brazenly up to him, nor did she wish to stealthily creep up to him. As she approached him, she was almost worried she was still too quiet, yet she did not want to step any louder. She continued walking right up to him, but decided to stop short. She was sure that he heard her approach before she was even on the wood pier, perhaps even before she was visible. He was amazing that way after all. But ever since she first saw him from the forest, he still hadn't moved. He was completely still, and she didn't wish to disturb him. She tried to follow his gaze, even though it was morning, it still felt and looked like the night. Finally, she decided to speak up.
"... It's quiet..."
It certainly was, away from the woods, the sounds of the insects were distant. Out here on this little wood bridge into nothingness, it was like being swallowed up by darkness and silence. His lack of response or movement worried her a little more. She waited just a little longer, then sat next to him, placing the basket quietly next to her. She gazed at him gently, then followed his gaze out into the darkness again, the bright moon dancing ever so lightly in the gentle distortions of the lake. Bringing her hands up to her mouth, she exhaled warmly once more.
"It sure is cold..."
With that, she decided to be a little spoiled and leaned against him lightly, to let him know she was there for him. Still, he said nothing, did nothing. She was certainly worried, but she was also sure, he'd talk when he was ready. For now, the best thing she could do as his wife, was to be there for him. It was a good long quiet moment later when he finally said,
"I'm glad you're here..."
"Mm..." she leaned into him a little more strongly to emphasize her existence. "I'm glad to be here, and I'm glad you're here too."
He still had not looked at her, and she guessed it was fine. "Sunrise should be soon." That caught her attention. She looked up at the sky and saw that indeed, a part of it was almost blue now.
"Mm. I think it'll be the first sunrise we see together, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
With that, he slowly moved one of his hands over both of hers, and gently squeezed. Glad to see some life in him now, she snuggled against him a little more.
"Sorry if I worried you, I was just thinking about things."
"Hmm? What things?"
"Death, and Life, but mostly Nothing. Not Nothing as not important, but the true essence of Nothing. Blankness, not emptiness. Like meditation."
"Mm?" She had guessed the first, but the latter was not what she had expected at all.
"I'd been fighting solo for so long, even with the safety margin, I've probably risked my life far more than anyone else in the game. Part of it was that I probably wanted to die fighting, but another part of me never felt more alive. Because death felt so real to me in every battle, every moment was precious. The food I ate mattered, the people I met mattered, the sights I see matter."
At that, Asuna followed his gaze to the sky, slowly watching the sky brighten.
"But for all the life and death we've had, I almost felt a little too tired of it all."
She looked back at him a little too sharply with concern.
"Ah. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean it quite like that. I just meant. As fun as it was living life and living the peaceful life here with you, laughing everyday, playing, meeting Yui, having a daughter in our house. I think a part of me just needed a break from living for awhile. No that's not right. Even on vacation, we've been living our lives rather loud and fast. And I think, I just needed a real break. To empty my mind, to be still, to be clear and serene. When I think about the future, in and out of this world, I think the chance to just... be... will be hard to come by."
She stared at him comprehensively for awhile, before joining him to watch the sunrise. It's true, yesterday they nearly died fighting the Fatal Scythe, and Yui is now gone from their world for now. It was only 2 days before that when they first met Yui, and that wasn't exactly relaxing, even though having Yui in the house was certainly a good thing, it was a little worrisome the whole time due to the unusual nature of Yui's situation. Before that, they'd played loud and fast all day long just as he said. Even their evening walks weren't as quiet as this was right now. Yes, quiet.
She suddenly remembered at how she found him napping in the shade and sun and breeze of a most pleasant day. She wondered if the him from then and the him from now were similar. Mentally exhausted from the stress of both living normally and living on the edge. A week ago, they bought this house, and officially exchanged rings quietly right here in front of this house. Not even a week before that, Kirito had gotten into a near death fight against the Floor 74 Boss, into a duel with Heathcliff, nearly murdered by Kuradeel, and murdered Kuradeel. It's no wonder he's tired.
Ignoring the idea that their marriage should be kept quiet to avoid animosity and publicity, just looking at this place, this secluded log cabin that Kirito had mentally picked out a long time ago, the way he proposed to me, and officially married me, it all pointed to the same thing. He really did want the quiet life. She understood, and agreed. She was tired too, but was a little surprised to find just how badly tired Kirito was. She was reminded once more just how little she knew about him. But for now, none of that mattered, they were together, and this long slow gradual sunrise was indeed beautiful.
. . .
. . .
She awoke with a start, her alarm had gone off at 7:50am as it always did. She found herself nuzzled against her dear husband, and smiled as she remembered the events that just transpired this morning. She still always had her alarm go off 10 minutes before her husband's did so that she could see his peaceful sleeping face, and watch him wake up. Privately, she wondered if he'd ever notice. For now, her adorable husband had too fallen asleep, his head leaning on hers, and she didn't dare move just yet at risk of waking him up. His alarm will go off soon, but for now, this moment, this was all hers.
Soon enough, her husband began stirring, and as soon as he began supporting his own head, she straightened herself and prepared to greet him. It was warmer now, so she removed her head-wear knowing full well the effect that the sun in her hair would have on her husband.
"Good morning, Kirito-kun."
"Nmm~, good morning." and with that, he let out a rather grandiose yawn. She waited patiently with a smile on her face, and as soon as his eyes found her, the pleased look he had was so precious she smiled even more.
"I brought breakfast. Here!"
"I'm the luckiest man in the world to be able to eat Asuna's cooking." He said, greedily taking her trademark sandwich. She giggled satisfactorily with pride as she got her own sandwich out. Just as Asuna was about to take a bite, "I'll never get tired of this, I'm so glad I married you." Asuna choked and coughed a little at that.
"Excuse me?" Inquired Asuna, a little offended at the audacity of his stomach.
"Err- I mean um, you know, a beautiful wife who's an amazing cook? I truly couldn't have asked for more."
"Geez~" She said with a fake pout. It was cheap flattery, but the awkwardness and cuteness of his panic allowed her to forgive him. She tried to change the subject, "Anyways, this sure is nice. We live right here, but sitting here like this sure is nice."
"Yeah, its truly beautiful." He said calmly, then he met her eyes, "Just beautiful..."
"G-Geez..." It took her a second to recover from such a blatantly embarrassing act, but she rewarded him with a kiss anyways.
. . .
. . .
It was a little after 9:00am, and they made their way into town, with Asuna wearing her shawl around her head as a disguise again. They still had Col and food reserves to last them for a while, but they were still rather broke until they made that dive in the 1st Floor basement Dungeon with Yui. Now that they had a reasonable pad of spending money, Asuna wanted to buy more fresh ingredients with increased variety. She was in the mood to experiment with a few ideas she'd been brainstorming on, and wasn't able to due to lack of money for a 'Research Grant'. As for Kirito, he was going to spend the day talking to various fisherman for guidance and information on his new found hobby. His pride as a gamer refused to acknowledge a pool of water beating him. He even made a big point at how even at the starting level, he could probably save money on food by fishing. Asuna just looked at him with disbelief and let him have his fun. They were both high level enough that they could fight monsters nearly anywhere, and in 15 minutes have enough money to buy any kind of food they'd want for a month. She didn't say anything about that though since word of their marriage has gotten out, and they didn't want people tracking them down to their home in this secluded town. To go out and kill monsters would risk exposure that would put all their incognito efforts to waste.
Asuna had fun shopping, it was nice being just a normal housewife, and even though they were new in town and were easily recognized as newlywed lovebirds, nobody knew or even suspected that they were the Flash or the Beater. It allowed her the wondrous sense of feeling normal for the first time since this death game started. She finished getting all the things she wanted and headed home, having established with her husband that they'd head home separately, not knowing how long Kirito would be.
. . .
. . .
"Tadaima~" announced Kirito.
"Okaeri~!" Asuna cheerfully replied back. "You're just in time!"
Asuna hurriedly began setting the table with all sorts of things she'd made just now.
"What's all this?"
"I thought I'd try out some new ideas a few at a time. I want to know what you think."
Some of them looked colorfully poisonous, then again, the mayonnaise was a green brown, and the soysauce was purple, so who knew what on earth it'd actually taste like. He just looked cautiously at the beaming Asuna and sighed.
"Well, they say the stranger it looks, the better it tastes..."
"What was that!?" Asuna growled.
"Uh nothing! Nothing. Just..."
"... Just~? "
"If you can serve this kind of stuff, I don't see why you'd throw out all those frog's le-"
"Ab-So-Lute-Ly NOT! Taste it before you judge it!" She declared as she began pushing him into a chair.
Taste it before you judge it... isn't that my line? Thought Kirito.
He wasn't sure what to try first. He knew he trusted Asuna's sense of taste, but it still wasn't easy looking at these things. The first plate in front of him had bright pink rubber bands covered in this thick lumpy pale blue slime. Not even having a clue as to how it'd taste, he forked some of it and closed his eyes.
"...! Spaghetti!? With meatballs!?"
He was incredulous, it was perfect. Asuna just beamed at him and prompted him to continue. The next plate was what looked like to be orange blobs in the center of a rounded triangular piece of red tree bark. There was no way the red tree bark was edible...
*Sluurrrp* "... Clams?"
He definitely wouldn't have placed that, though he supposed he could have guessed. He was a little surprised at the use of bark for the shell, but the texture was perfect. How did Asuna figure this out? Did she, in her quest to find the perfect foods, even go around chewing tree bark? His raised eyebrow at Asuna while he held the improvised clam shell caused her to panic.
"Nono it's not what you think! You know? How there are a lot of lumberjacks around here? I met some of them while I was shopping and they overheard me mumbling about clams, and they mentioned that the texture of this wood was exactly like a clam shell... so..."
"Heh, and here I thought you went around biting trees in your quest for perfection."
"I told you it's not like that~!" Cried Asuna with a pout. She tried to think of something in revenge. "Oh that's right! When we first met Yui, we both thought it odd that she was too young, and you had mentioned that the youngest you'd ever met was a 13 year old girl you helped out. You promised me to tell me about it some time~."
"Eh!? Ah~ don't look at me like that. Nothing happened! Really!"
"Hmmm~"
"Okay okay, I'll tell you, stop looking at me like that."
He got a little more serious. "It started last Valentine's day, a small guild Silver Flags had 4 of its 5 members killed, leaving the leader behind. They were murdered by Titan's Hand, the Orange Guild."
Asuna stayed quiet, she'd heard about the Orange Guild, and even some of their crimes, but it was the first she heard about the Silver Flags. Absentmindedly, she wondered what she was doing on Valentine's Day, she seemed to recall trying to look for Kirito but he was never anywhere to be seen.
"Silver Flag's guild leader ran all over, day and night, from the Town of Beginnings to the Front Lines, begging for someone to avenge his friends. But he didn't want them killed, he just wanted them put to jail."
Now that he said it, she did seem to recall something like that awhile ago. Word had spread rapidly through her guild, but they were too busy clearing floors at the time to devote manpower to that, as a matter of fact, by the time word got to her ears, it turned out someone had already taken up the job. She was a little surprised, and yet not surprised, that it was him.
"That man had sold everything he owned to buy a Corridor Crystal set to the Jail, and when I heard about his situation, and what he wanted done, I couldn't just stand by."
His eyes darkened a little, a look that Asuna picked up on. She understood immediately that the look he had on now was related to his only other guild. The one that he was the sole survivor of. She said nothing for now and let him continue.
"I accepted the task, and took the Crystal, and began asking for information and followed a few leads that lead nowhere. A few days later, I was looking into a lead that the Orange guild was preying on people in the Lost Forest on Floor 35, I found and saved this girl."
Ah, so he saved her from death. He really does like being the knight in shining armor. Well, more like the Black Knight... Asuna thought with a grin. Seeing and ignoring the smirk Asuna had, he continued.
"After I saved her, the first word she said was 'Pina', it caught me a little by surprise, and she started sobbing over this glowing feather. I hadn't realized it at first, but she was a beast tamer, and that feather was Pina's Heart."
Asuna reached for Yui's Heart tenderly with an understanding look in her eye. Kirito saw her actions, and also understood. Nothing extra need be said.
"I told her about the quest to revive her pet within 3 days, and promised to accompany her to Floor 47's Hill of Memories."
Asuna immediately raised an eyebrow. She knew that Floor 47's Floria was a common dating area.
"You know it wasn't like that." He said, a little annoyed. "If I had to be honest, the reason I helped her so readily was because she reminded me of my little sister."
Asuna's stare couldn't have been more doubtful.
"Anyways, I guided her through the field dungeon, and she got the Pneuma flower she needed, but we decided to head back before using it, just in case, since she and her pet were relatively low leveled for that floor. And on our way back, we bumped into the Orange guild. I apprehended them peacefully, and sent them all to jail. I bid farewell to Silica and that we'll be friends in the real world."
"Hmm~, so her name's Silica huh? I was wondering when you'd fess up about that. And you even went and promised to meet her in the real world huh?"
"Eh? A-Asuna, don't misunderstand!"
. . .
. . .
"Ittekimasu!"
"Itterasshai~!"
It's after lunch and Kirito has decided to give fishing another go with his new found knowledge and bait. Asuna retightens her apron out of habit and begins to plan her day's experiments. Most of the things she did for lunch were made entirely from brand new ingredients, if she wanted to start mixing ingredients, she'd need to better sort her inventory. Opening up her inventory, she heaved a sigh at the sight of Kirito's stuff. He's such a packmule. Her stuff was mostly her battle gear, her clothes, her foodstuffs, and various crystals. But Kirito seemed to have everything, everything you could want except clothing variety, and some of these things even got her pondering. He's got 4 different tents, a cooking pot, and 3 sleeping bags of the same kind? Why would he even need that many? And who in their right mind would camp out in the open? Ah... She suddenly remembered that before she met Kirito for the first time, she had actually taken 5 mass produced rapiers, and went deep into the first floor dungeon and fought with the intent to completely use up all 5 rapiers, sleeping on the floor of the safe area nearby for several days, only to wake up and continue killing monsters on the brink of exhaustion as long as her brain was still working. Don't tell me, he's still doing those kinds of reckless things as a Solo? Sigh~ Whatever. She began to sort and organize their now shared inventory for the first time, trying to preserve Kirito's item arrangement with hers. It was a good 20 minutes in when she saw something peculiar.
{Merry Christmas}
The icon to the left of it was the one used for audio crystals. Christmas? This wasn't hers, was it Kirito's? But its only just November... Is he testing me? Another scare prank? Or did he really want to make sure he didn't forget to get me something on Christmas? Curiosity getting the better of her, she tapped it once to open up the more detailed information window, and what immediately caught her eye was.
[Created by: Sachi]
Sachi... A name she knew well, and yet didn't know at all. Sachi was a member of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, a small guild Kirito had joined a long time ago, and has continuously held himself responsible for the death of everyone in it. He'd told her how they died right after he'd gotten his KoB uniform, the day before the attempted murder by and the murder of Kuradeel, and consequently their first night together she recalled with a brief blush, and the proposal shortly after. It was one of the most important days of her life. She hoped it was the same for him.
Wait a moment. Now that she thought of it, she could clearly recall that it was mid-October, Oct 22 counting backwards from the date of the proposal. Kirito-kun had said then that a year ago, no, over a year ago, they all died in that horrible trap. That would mean that they died around summer, and he was only in the guild a short time, a matter of months. So why? Her eyes focused on the title once more. {Merry Christmas}. This... was sent after her death... Her hand that had been calmly pointing at the detailed information window began to tremble. That's right, Klein had said something about him being really worried about Kirito last Christmas when we had a small party to celebrate the marriage the day after, something to do with a revive item that only worked... on someone in... the next 10 seconds...
She suddenly felt like she was seriously intruding on her husband's past. I shouldn't be looking at this, I should never have seen this. This isn't something I peek at out of curiosity. If he knew that I saw this, or worse, listened to it, what would he think? Could I violate his trust like that? Would I want my secrets exposed like this if the roles were reversed?
Then she remembered the day they had solved a crime and the safe zone PK, when she asked Kirito what he'd think if he married someone and found out something else about them.
"Lucky... I guess? Because, when you get married, you already love everything about them right? So if you found even more to love, wouldn't it be twice the love?"
He didn't exactly phrase it well back then, but I agreed with him. And if that's how he felt... She glanced at the words [Created by: Sachi] one more time, and made firm her resolve. Forgive me, Kirito-kun, I want to know. I want to know more about you, and more about Sachi. With that, she went into the bathroom, locking the door so that the room was now soundproof, and materialized the crystal. With a shaky finger, she activated the recording.
"Kirito, Merry Christmas."
She sounds gentle and nice.
"At the time when you hear this message, I am probably dead. That is because if I were still alive, I would have removed this crystal from the shared inventory on Christmas Eve and let you hear what I have to say personally.
Wait, shared inventory? Was Kirito married before? He never said anything about this. No, if he were married before, he'd have mentioned it, I'm sure. Perhaps it's through some other means? Kirito's pretty knowledgeable in this game after all...
"That... Let me clarify why I have recorded this message."
"I, probably, will not survive for long. Of course, this does not mean that I doubt the capability of Kirito and the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild. That is because Kirito is very strong and the rest of the members are getting stronger by the day."
"How should I explain this... A very close friend of mine from another guild lost her life. Being a timid person like me, she only hunted in safe areas, but because of her bad luck, she was killed by mobs on her way back to town."
Asuna remembered seeing and hearing such unfair things happening all the time, to the point that she decided that if she were to die, she'd want it to be against an actual unfairly strong enemy, and not due to random cruelty.
"After that, I pondered over various stuffs and I came to a conclusion. To continue surviving in this world, it matters not how strong your companions are, if you do not have the will to live or the determination to survive no matter what, death definitely awaits."
The will to live...The determination to survive... huh. Asuna could think of no better person to fit that description other than Kirito. Indeed, it was Kirito who showed her how strong his will to live was, not his refusal to die.
"For me... Truthfully, ever since the first time I stepped into the beginner practice area, I was and have been very afraid. Actually, I never intended to leave the Starting City. Although I was very close to members from the Black Cats of the Full Moon in the real world and I enjoyed the time we spent together, I hated going into battles. I probably will die eventually if I continue to hold this attitude in battle. This was not caused by anyone, the problem lies with me."
Had I never met Kirito-kun... I imagine I would have been just like her. Fighting to die eventually, wondering when, not how, the game would finally kill me...
"Ever since that night, you've been telling me it's alright every night and that I won't die."
That night? Every night? Anxiety began to take form in Asuna as jealousy swelled.
"That is why if by any chance I die, you'll definitely blame yourself for it and won't forgive yourself. This is also the reason why I thought of recording this message. I would like to tell Kirito, it isn't your fault. If there is any problem, it would be me. The date will be set on the next Christmas, because I would like to at least try to survive until then, hoping to walk down the snowy street together with you."
She certainly knew him well, she conceded. She still felt uneasy with a tinge of anguish, hating that she was jealous of this perfectly normal thing, because she was thankful that this Sachi had gone so far to think of Kirito...
"Actually... I knew how strong Kirito is. One time, when I woke up from Kirito's bed,-"
"Kirito-kun's BED~!?" she blurted out. She quickly looked at the locked door, took a deep breath, and restrained herself as she continued to listen.
"...I accidentally saw your level from your opened status window behind you. Even after thinking long and hard, I still did not manage to come up with any reasons why Kirito-kun would hide his real level and form a party with us. But I didn't mention this to the other members, as I believed that someday you would tell us the reason personally... I was rejoicing when I found out that you are very strong. After knowing that, I started to be able to sleep peacefully as long as I am by your side. Perhaps to you, being with me might be of significance to you, this also made me very happy. If this is the case, there was definitely meaning in me coming to the higher floors even for a timid person like me."
Asuna had calmed down, and was now listening with remorse at how similar she was to this girl, who was no longer among the living.
"That... Actually, what I am trying to say is, even if I die, you should strive to survive. Live on, look upon this world until it ends, please help me find out the reason why this world was created, the meaning of why such a timid person is in this world, the significance of our meeting. That is my wish."
I'm not being fair. This kind girl, no, pure-hearted normal girl, truly loved Kirito-kun. And he truly loved her back.
"Ah... Seems like there is still some time left. This crystal can record plenty of stuff. Hmmm, then, since Christmas is such a special occasion, I'll sing a Christmas carol. I do have some confidence in my voice. I guess I'll go with Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer. Actually, I would have preferred to sing other songs like Winter Wonderland, or White Christmas, which are more well known, but unfortunately I can only sing the lyrics of this song."
"Why did I only remember Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer? The previous night, Kirito said something to me, 'No matter who you are, you definitely can make a difference in someone's life.' Telling me that even if it is me, there is a place where I belong. After hearing those words, I was extremely glad and I rememebered this song. I don't know why but it was probably because I kind of thought of myself as Rudolph and you as Santa Claus... If I have to put it in words, you give me a fatherly feeling. My father left me when I was still very young, that is why every night when I was sleeping beside you, I kept wondering if that was the feeling that a father would give."
Like a father...? So then, perhaps nothing happened at all. A far more innocent love than I thought. She grimaced at how ugly her jealousy was. Now that I think about it...Didn't the naive Kirito literally mean 'let's sleep together' and I misunderstood? She thought with a halfhearted and sad chuckle.
"Ah, okay. I'll start singing."
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose.
All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names.
Then one Christmas Eve Santa came to say:
'Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?'
Rudolph who was always crying, started smiling that night.
Asuna watched the dancing yellow lights inside this slowly rotating blue crystal and began to tear up earnestly at the hauntingly beautiful cheerful melody. How kind and cheerful and innocent she is... How cruel this world is. How cruel...
"... To me, You'll always be like a bright star that shines and guides me from the opposite end of a dark alley. Good-bye, Kirito. It was really fortunate of me to have met you and to have been with you."
"Arigato."
"Sayonara."
The orange-yellow glow inside the crystal dimmed and the red light turned black as the message finished. Once dark, the crystal fell back into her hands. She held the crystal tenderly, grieving softly for the death of someone so kind and considerate. She'll never know her face, but now she knew who she was. Was... recognizing the use of past tense, Asuna grieved wholeheartedly for a while.
This game is so cruel...why would someone like Sachi and her friends from a computer club have to die to something so unreasonable as an unfair trap? Why does a world like this exist?
At that thought, she recalled what Sachi said.
"Live on, look upon this world until it ends, please help me find out the reason why this world was created, the meaning of why such a timid person is in this world, the significance of our meeting. That is my wish."
The reason this world exists. Why am I here? Why me? What's the reason Kirito and I met? These are all questions I've asked myself, but have never found an answer. But now that I think about it. I think I have found the answer I've always been searching for. This world exists to bring me and Kirito-kun together. Kirito-kun is my reason for being in this world. If Kirito-kun weren't here, this world wouldn't be worth living. ... Thank you Sachi, for showing this side of yourself to me, and this side of Kirito's past to me. I won't forget you.
With that, Asuna hugged the audio crystal once more, and put it back where she found it.
I wonder if Kirito-kun meant for me to find this. Or, has he forgotten that he has it? Or does he keep it to remind himself? No, beyond what I've already intruded on, what happens with that crystal now is between him and Sachi. I'll protect you, Kirito-kun, this I swear.
With that, she calmly went back to her kitchen, and with a deep breath and crisp battle cry, charged into her experiments with renewed vigor.
. . .
. . .
Nov 5, 2024
Having just had dinner with Nishida, a local fisherman, and accepted an offer of partnership to tackle the monster of the lake using Nishida's {Fishing} and Kirito's {Strength}, Asuna and Kirito wind down for the night. Kirito flops onto the bed first and does some image training in disbelief at tomorrow's task.
"I don't mind fishing for that thing, but is {Switch}ing with a fishing pole even possible?"
"If it's Kirito-kun it'll be fine." Asuna replied with a smile.
Kirito heaves a sigh and relaxes, and Asuna joins him as he reaches for the light.
"If you catch it, what'll you do? Keep it?" Teased Asuna, having fun with the development.
"Can you even keep something like that?" sighed Kirito. As Asuna happily snuggles into him comfortably for the night, "He sure was a friendly guy..."
Asuna chuckled at the understatement, "You suddenly bringing him really surprised me you know?." She turned lightly and looked out their window into the night sky, as starlight and moonlight beams down onto their bed. "In this world, lots of people are living normally, aren't they? Since we can fight on the front lines, we have a responsibility to them, don't we?"
"The main reason I got stronger was so I'd be able to survive." Not to save the others was his unspoken point, Asuna understood. So she climbed in front of him to look him in the eye, her hand on his cheeks to ensure that they look face to face.
"I think that lots of people expect great things from you now... Including me," She smiled gently. And Sachi, and everyone else you've met and changed the lives of, she thought, and smiled tenderly as she watched his guilt float away. He reached for Yui's Heart around Asuna's neck.
"Yeah... I promised that I'd save everyone."
"But..." Asuna began, as she gently laid her body against his, "Just for a little longer..."
"Yeah." Kirito agreed, as he continued staring out the window into the deep night sky.
. . .
. . .
Nov 7, 2024
"All right, stop moping."
"But~," groaned Kirito, "it's only been two weeks..." he complained as he lay flopped on the bed. And even in those 2 weeks, it wasn't exactly restful. He couldn't even fish in peace. Just yesterday he got dragged along on some crazed monster hunt with the monster of the lake. Before the celebrations of that event even ended, he got a message from Heathcliff to come back. There was no rest after the event now that people knew The Flash lived here and was his wife and he was sure some of them knew or figured him as the Beater. There would likely be little rest compared to before now that they're famous here, and there was no real rest in tension as they'd discussed when to go back to the front lines. They'd decided at 9am this morning but he couldn't get into the mood at all. In protest, since neither of them were in the Knights of the Blood Oath for the moment, he chose to wear his usual black outfit, though Asuna stuck to her usual KoB uniform as well.
"If he's summoning us to the front lines when we're on vacation, something big must have happened."
"True, but..."
"Let's at least talk to him. Come on, it's time." Encouraged Asuna. With a big resigned sigh, Kirito gets up with energy. "Let's deal with it and come back."
"Yeah" he replied, finally encouraged at the prospect of going back to their vacation after this is taken care of.
. . .
. . .
Nov 7, 2024 – Floor 22: Coral Teleport Gate Plaza
"Thanks for seeing us off." said Kirito gratefully. "We didn't spend much time together, but it was fun."
"Yes, it was a good experience for me." insisted Nishida with slight embarrassment "Actually, before meeting you two, I'd thought of those working to clear the game as in a different world. I've been trapped in here for two years. Even if I make it back somehow, I don't know if I can return to my old job. It's possible I'd already given up on escape. And so, I told myself that spending my time with a fishing rod in my hand would be the best thing for me. It's pretty sad."
"No... No, that isn't..." Kirito quietly began to declare, a mixture of understanding and wanting to say it's not sad but natural, even he'd given up on escape a few times, sometimes seeking death instead.
"Me too." Asuna stated firmly and quietly. The words caught Kirito's ear and surprised him. The ever cheerful Asuna also gave up on escape?
"At first, I thought the same thing. I cried alone every single night. It felt like every day that passed here stole another piece of my real life away." This harsh articulation of Asuna's feeling of being trapped in this game caught Nishida rather by surprise, to think that the clearers of the game were that miserable. He'd thought them invincible, unafraid of death, maybe even happy to be here, or happily fighting to go back to the real world. "After I cried, I'd go and fight as hard as I could. My only thought was of winning, moving forward, and getting stronger."
"But then, I saw someone napping in the shade, at the plaza." She said lightheartedly with a smile. "It made me so mad," she laughed. "I told him to 'stop wasting his time.' And he replied that 'it was Aincrad's best season, and its best weather setting, too. So entering a dungeon would be a waste.' Then I tried lying down, as well, and I slept like a baby." she recalled with a grin. "When I awoke, it was evening, and he looked a bit annoyed." Nishida smiled at the image she described, and understood the meaningfulness of the silliness of it all.
"But as we partied up together, I realized, even in a world like this, he was really living. He wasn't losing a day in the real world. He was gaining a day here." She firmly and proudly grabbed his hand and declared, "The one who taught me that, was Kirito-kun." Kirito stared and listened quietly, he had no idea he had that much of an impact on her, He'd always assumed she was brilliantly radiant since he first met her, both in and out of battle.
"When I began thinking of him as I fell asleep, I stopped having nightmares." As she said her next line, she began to cry a most beautiful happy smile, "I began to look forward to seeing him." She began to lightly sob at how thankful she was to have met Kirito-kun. "For the first time since I arrived here, I was happy."
Wiping her tears with her wrist, "To me, Kirito-kun is the meaning of my two years here. And proof that I'm alive." Kirito, who had been listening and watching, was inwardly moved at this very honest display of emotion. He tightened his grip on Asuna's hand to tell her he thought the same. Asuna continued lightly sobbing happily, "The reason I tried the NerveGear that day, was so that I could meet him." Her watery eyes with her thankful smile even moved Nishida to happy tears. "I'm sure there's also something important to you here."
"That's true, you're exactly right. Life isn't so bad. It's not so bad." He agreed with tears in his eyes. He put his hands around Asuna's and Kirito's hands to show his appreciation. "There's nothing I can do to help you. But good luck."
"Let's go fishing together again." Smiled Kirito.
"We'll be back." Smiled Asuna.
With that perfect image of lack of doubt between Kirito and Asuna, Nishida slowly backed off and silently bid them farewell once more. Then with a stern look on both of them, they commanded in unison.
"Teleport! Grandzam!"
As the light blue glow of the teleportation slowly enveloped the two, Nishida continued waving them good bye as Asuna and Kirito just calmly looked back with content gentle smiles on their faces.
. . .
. . .
Nov 7, 2024 – Floor 75: Dungeon
"I don't like this place..." cautioned Asuna.
"Yeah..." Kirito agreed.
This was one of the largest high level raids in awhile. 32 people have gathered at 1pm today to take on the mystery boss that just recently wiped out a scouting party of 10 within 5 minutes without a trace. The first words out of Asuna and Kirito after they exited the expensive corridor crystal were foreboding. There were heavy casualties on the 25th floor boss fight that nearly wiped out The Force, now known as The Army, and it was also then that the Knights of the Blood Oath was formed in the aftermath. The 50th floor boss fight would have proved an even greater disaster, if it weren't for Heathcliff holding off the boss for 30 minutes all by himself to buy time for reinforcements to arrive after the rest of the front line teleported out in panic. They could usually tell how difficult a fight would be going by the feeling of the dungeon. Both Kirito and Asuna had never actually gone into this dungeon yet, going on vacation after the boss of the 74th Floor, so the bad sensation, the history of extremely difficult fights every 25th floor, and the fact that it was likely a crystal nullifying boss fight, it was understandable that everyone was apprehensive. Even after most of the people began cheering with their morale boosted after Heathcliff's speech, Kirito looked on with anxiety and wariness.
The warm hand suddenly holding his hand caught him by surprise. "It'll be okay" she said reassuringly. "I'll protect you. So you protect me too okay?" She smiled gently.
"Yeah, I will."
As Heathcliff opened the door slowly, Kirito, now emboldened, took his place along side Klein and Agil, ready to fight for life and death, with Asuna right behind him.
"Don't die." smiled Kirito tauntingly to his friends.
"Same to you!" taunted Klein.
"I'm gonna make a fortune off today's drops. I have no intention of dying." Exclaimed Agil with high spirits to shake off his nervousness.
The giant doors locked in place with a threateningly deep echo. "Attack!" Commanded Heathcliff, and everyone gave out their battle cry and charged into the dark boss room en masse.
. . .
. . .
. . .
From the Author:
This is my 3rd draft/rewrite (excluding minor edits for things that slipped past initial proofreading). The primary change here will be the use of Sachi's voice crystal from the Light Novel. A reviewer stated that it was more in-depth, and I wholeheartedly agreed. The reason why I skipped over it when I wrote this for the first time was that I thought the issue of shared inventory beyond marriage might complicate things, and I wasn't entirely sure how to pull it off. I hope I did a good job with it.
My 1st draft ended right after the crystal was listened to.
The 2nd draft, I decided to add 'evidence' that Asuna may have listened to the crystal.
I appreciate thoughts, discussion, criticism, good or bad I care not. I'm looking for voices apart from my own to be involved. I list this as Complete because this is now in it's 3rd major re-written form, and barring tiny proofread edits here and there, I do not feel compelled to add more. As it is, I'd say I'm quite satisfied with what I've written.
(Still debating whether or not I should add the scene before the boss fight gathering where Asuna scolds him for trying to leave her behind, that she'd commit suicide if he died first, and the mention of the real world time limit. However, I don't feel like I can add anything meaningful in my own writing, so I've left it out, just as I've left out the other scenes involving Nishida.)
If I am mistaken in my research or details, by all means, bring it to my attention. I want this to be as true to SAO as we know it as possible.
If you like it, say so, and tell me the things you liked most. It'll encourage me to write some other things I've thought up, but for now I'm rather burnt out since I wrote this more or less in one go after a week of dreaming up the story. It actually means a lot to me if you like my story and how I wrote it. It's my first one after all.
If you don't like some parts, say so, and I'll endeavor to meet your demands as well.
I'm new to this, so I'm willing to learn what overall expectations are. How to put it, I enjoy the challenge.
I also pose a question, would this story be better served broken up into chapters instead of page breaks? or would that disrupt the flow too much? or do the page breaks disrupt the flow even more? I'm not really sure what the norm is here yet.
Thank you for reading.