A/N: Time for a one shot, this time for Sword Art Online.

Anyway, this Kazuto/KiritoXAsuna fic takes place in between from the time when Kazuto finds out about ALfheim Online and meets Leafa to the time he reaches the World Tree. The writing of this was partly inspired by the song "Shrink the World" by Yellowcard, hence the title of the fic. Listen to it in the background if you want. The story originally contained the lyrics, but I had to remove them because of the stupid guidelines. Whatever. On that note, enjoy the one shot!

Shrink the World

All I could do is think about her: Asuna Yuuki, the one and only love of my life. Lying on my bed in my dark room, I sighed as I stared at my Nervegear. If I weren't spending time with my cousin, Sugu (which mainly meant sparring or taking her out for food), I'd be working with my partner, Leafa, on ALfhiem Online, trying to find a way to rescue Asuna from The World Tree. If not, I'd be visiting Asuna at her hospital bed in the real world, where she'd lie motionless with her Nervegear remaining active for the past 2 years. It wouldn't matter what I say to her; she just wouldn't wake up.

It'd break my heart every time I would see her, but would also give me hope knowing that she was still alive at the same time.

Every time, every damn time I would think about her, all that would come to my mind are the times we had spent in SAO. Her and every little thing she did made every second in that deathgame perfect. It was all so painfully clear in my head; the day she got mad at me for napping on the fields, the night I proposed to her, and the day where we were in each others arms, staring into the distance as Aincrad crumbled before us.

I thought we were both going to die at the time, and honestly, I wouldn't mind dying as long as I was with her.

I checked the time on my watch, which read 5:38 PM. Realizing that I still have a while before visiting hours end, I decided to go see her. I was probably going to go insane if I remained in my bed dreaming about her anyways; I just had to see her face. Groaning as my sore body stood up and stretched, I picked up my jacket on the floor and walked out of my room.

I ran down the stairs, where I saw Sugu training in the backyard. As soon as she saw me reach for the door, she immediately put her wooden sword down and ran up to me.

"Kazuto, where are you going?" Suguha asked, breathing faster because of her training.

I looked down at my feet. "I'm, um, going out –"

"To visit Asuna, right?"

I cringed. For some reason, I always get this odd vibe whenever my cousin talks about her. I don't know why, either it's my imagination or she's saying her name in a strange tone. "Yes, that's right."

Suguha pursed her lips. "I see."

Besides my friends from SAO like Klein and Agil, Sugu was the only person who knew about Asuna and me. The other night, she caught me crying pools of tears, something I swore to myself she would never have to see. She comforted me, telling me to not give up on the one I love. Those words gave me faith that as long as I keep fighting outside and inside ALfheim Online, I would eventually be reunited with Asuna.

"Kazuto?" Suguha said, sighing. "You're spacing out again."

My eyes snapped wide open. Shaking my head, I apologized as I rubbed my eyes. Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep…

Again, my cousin sighed. "Just… don't come back home too late," she said to me in almost a commanding tone. "We still have that movie to watch!"

I laughed as I ruffled her hair, which she growled at, telling me that I'm ruining her hair, so I opted to giving her a warm hug. Bidding her farewell, I hopped on my bike and made my way to the hospital.

It's December and where I live, it barely snowed, and it got dark quickly. The sun was setting in the red-orange sky, setting a nice view of the city from where I was. You can practically see everything; the tall working buildings, the shops, and the people. The cool winter breeze struck my face, sweeping through my thick black hair and I peddled my way through the city.

Every time I would go visit her, my heart would race faster and faster.

'Yuuki, Asuna', read the nametag on the side of the door. My heart was thumping quickly; it was so fast that I was actually worried that it'd rip out of my chest.

Whether it's from how fast I peddled or how excited I am to see her face again was irrelevant.

I opened the door, and inside was the smell of fresh flowers. As I walked past the curtain, beside the rose I left her yesterday was a large bouquet. Curious to see who left it, I walked up to it to examine the card attached to it.

'With love,

Sugou Nobuyuki'

My hands balled into fists after seeing that name. It was one thing to learn that Asuna's parents had arranged their marriage, but hearing his plan to take advantage of Asuna's coma to take her money absolutely enraged me. Not only that, but the mask he wore around other people, (namely her parents), pretending that he truly loved her, (I bet the flowers won him points) and wasn't there for the hard cash, still makes my stomach churn. The way Sugou looked at Asuna, my Asuna, and how he took a bit of her long and radiant light brown hair and ran his mouth along it, licking his lips greedily, hungrily, and possessively, would make me want to push him out of the window.

Pushing out all thoughts of resentment and hatred towards Sugou, I turned to face Asuna's sleeping body. According to the monitors, her heartbeat and everything else was running normally, but it was still tearing my heart to see her.

"Asuna…" the name I've grown to love dearly pushed its way through my lips, and it began to repeat in my mind, like an addicting drug you just can't get enough of. She was wearing the standard white hospital gown, and was covered in white blanket sheets. Her hair was somewhat tangled in a mess, and her face was pale and dry. Asuna's mouth was opened ever so slightly, only to let air flow in and out. It's crazy how much I would give for her to open her eyes, spring out of bed, and to hear her voice again; for her to hug me, kiss me…

I sat down, simply staring at her motionless figure. Once again, flashbacks from SAO flooded my head. Lizbeth teasing Asuna about us in her shop, seeing her cheeks turn pink made me chuckle a little. When I kissed her, committing my life to her, and her saying she'll be there for me as well made my heart lift. When I told her my real name and she told me hers, small things like that reminded me that she will always love me just as much as I love her.

She inspires me. To think someone as strong willed as her would also be so loving, kind, and caring. It'd make my heart melt every time I think of her.

Asuna Yuki was, and will always be, everything to me.

"A-Asuna," I quietly said to her. Over the past 2 months, I've grown a habit of talking to her, even though it pains me knowing I won't get a reply. "You have no idea how excited I was when Agil sent me that screenshot of you in the cage; how excited I was when I booted up my Nervegear once more. I knew I was one step closer to finding you again. Life just isn't the same without you, and it never will be until I can be with you again.

"You know I would never ever stop until I save you."

I could just picture it; the two of us in a park or some other place, sitting down on a bench with her head resting on her favourite place on my shoulder, like we did back in the house we bought in SAO.

I slowly interlocked my fingers with hers.

"I miss everything," I whispered as a single tear ran down my cheek. "I miss all the things we do. I miss you."

I spent the following 4 hours sitting by her side, holding her hand and silently speaking to her. I would have stayed longer if the nurse hadn't walked in, telling me that visiting hours were over. After the nurse left, I slowly leaned in to give her a light kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry, Asuna. I will continue to fight for you, and I will save you. I promise," I said. "I love you."

A/N: And so ends my nice, simple oneshot. I'm sorry if I got any details from the series wrong, please let me know and I'll update it as soon as I can. Please leave a review for any mistakes, corrections, or how much you loved/hated it, as I feel as though I've rushed it. Also, I'd love to write more SAO fics, and so if you have any prompt ideas, please leave a review or PM me!