A young girl woke up in the morning and checked her calendar.

"It's been 18 years since I was born."

30 September, 2025. Today was Asuna Yuuki's 18th birthday. 18 was such an important number in Japan, since it was the age that certified children as adults. Being an adult meant you had the freedom to take your own decisions. But for Asuna, this was not the case. Her mother, who was as strict as ever, had her future planned out for her, from the school she was going to, to her future partner. It had been 9 months since her "arranged" marriage with one of those partners, Nobuyuki Sugou. He had placed her in a living hell, at a birdcage in the top of World Tree in ALO. Ever since then, Asuna resented her parents, who went through with having Sugou without her consent. She had her eyes only on Kazuto Kirigaya, an ordinary high-schooler who was one year younger to her.

But today, Asuna decided that she would speak face-to-face with her mother. If there was ever a time in her life where she desired freedom, it would be her birthday. Her previous 15 years before the SAO incident have been empty to her. As a result of being brought up in a strict, well-mannered environment, she couldn't connect with others, and thus didn't have many friends. That all changed when she met Rika Shinozaki (Lisbeth) and Kazuto (Kirito) in SAO. Finding a friend and a lover in that disaster of a game was a blessing to her. So today, she decided she would celebrate her birthday with her friends from SAO who gave her life new meaning.

Asuna woke up and was ready to have breakfast.

"Go.. Good morning, Mother."

"Good morning, Asuna."

Her mother, Kyoko Yuuki, sat on the opposite end of the table. As usual, Asuna couldn't miss her cold eyes. However, she would then gather up the courage to say the following:

"…M…Mother?"

"Yes?"

"You know what today is, right?"

"Of course I do, Asuna. How could I ever forget?"

Those words may have appeared reassuring, but deep inside, Asuna felt they were empty. She then spoke up, letting her mother know her desire.

"I want to celebrate my birthday with my friends! Just this time. I've never had the chance to do so."

The air was stiff in the house. Asuna felt very tensed.

"Very well. But you must be back by 7 pm."

Asuna could barely contain her excitement. She had finished her breakfast and went off to school. As her classes were about to start, she met Rika and Ayano Keiko (Silica).

"Good morning, Liz, Silica-chan."

"Good morning, Asuna-san."

"Good morning, Asuna. Oh, did you see Kirito?"

"Kirito-kun? Oh, I've never seen him today. He didn't message me."

"Hmmm…. I sense a surprise."

"What are you talking about?"

"O… oh, it's nothing. Come on, classes are about to start."

Asuna went over to her English class. However, she could not care about her classes. She had never felt this way before. She always felt like a good student. But today was her birthday, and Kazuto, her boyfriend didn't bother to show up, let alone talk to her. Even Yui, her virtual 'daughter' from Aincrad, didn't speak to her. She was left alone and in the dark. All she wanted, was for someone to celebrate this auspicious day with her.

Then all of a sudden during lunchtime, she looked around and saw Kazuto. She was surprised then. She went to see him.

"Hey, Kirito-kun.", she said in a nice manner. "Do you remember what day it is today?"

"Hmmm? What day?"

Upon hearing this, Asuna broke. Her emotions were in a mess. She was angry, sad, and distressed at the same time. "He doesn't know my birthday?" was all she thought.

"Ki-ri-to-kun!"

"Ye… Yes ma'am?"

"Today's significance, remember?"

"Ummmmm…."

Just then, Rika and Keiko appeared.

"Hey, Asuna."

"Oh, hi."

"Ah, Kirito? I see some trouble spewing about."

"Wait, what?"

"Kirito, spill the beans right now. You better not make Asuna cry."

"Ok, ok. Sorry, Asuna. Yui, it's time."

With a gentle hug to her, Kazuto and Yui whisper the following words to Asuna:

"Happy birthday."

With this, Asuna felt elated. That initial anger at Kazuto turned to joy. Her happiness could not be described into simple words. She was about to kiss Kazuto, but Rika stopped him.

"Hold it right there, Asuna. This is not the time for that."

"Oh, come on." *pouting* "Fine. Say, why don't we go somewhere else?"

"Sure!", all of them said in unison.

When all of them left school, they tried to enter the best place they could find. They wanted to give Asuna the best time of her life. However, little did they know that Asuna was happy with all of them no matter where they would go. Eventually, they went over to a really good cafe, where they had an exotic cake slice.

At this point, Asuna was thoroughly enjoying every moment of this day. She understood what it was like to have wonderful friends, something she had missed her entire life. For all of these friends of hers to share the joy that she felt, she was very happy.

Afterwards, she wanted some alone time with Kazuto, the person with whom she spent two years inside Aincrad. She had taken him to a park near her home, which was vacant at the moment. They were sitting in a swing together, looking at the stars.

"Hey, Kirito-kun, do you remember our promise?"

"Oh, the one we made in Aincrad? Of course, we'd go and see a shooting star some time."

"Shooting star? That sounds nice, I wanna go."

"Sure thing, Yui."

They did a few swings together. Asuna was at her happiest at that moment, with the person she loved the most. However, all of that happiness was only short-lived. Eventually, she had returned to her home. She had greeted her mother and maid, but in some way, she still felt held down by her duties. All she wanted was just to have fun. She had friends that she long wished for, but her mother looked down on them. She had hoped that things would resolve between them, now that she was of the appropriate age.