AN: Sorry for the formatting, I'm on my iPod touch. Anyways this is something I had thought of awhile ago, so I decided to write it down. I would like to clarify, that Asuna wasn't raped, she just thought she might have been at first. It is Kirito's baby, so don't worry about that. If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear it.
Asuna Pov
I heard a faint beeping sound when I woke up, the piercing throb in my head getting worse as it continued. My whole body felt as if something was weighing it down, as if I were under water. My body felt disconnected from my mind, and it took a few minutes to locate the part of my brain that controls my eyelids.
Trying to open them, I was finally able to raise them a few millimeters, something I regretted immediately. Nothing but a white blur existed on the other side, but that was not why I wanted to close them. It felt like someone had kicked sand in my eyes, or I had left the fan pointed directly at my face as I slept, like all the moisture had escaped from them. The light from the room only increased my headache.
Blind, and in pain I tried to call for help.
"H-!" My throat closed up, refusing to let me speak. Both my eyes and my throat were so very, very dry, like I hadn't moved or spoke in a long time. I felt so parched, like I was dehydrated. There was no choice of me talking at the moment.
Desperately, I wished for some eye drops, something I had never used before. It terrified me, was I really going blind? I tried to think if anything had happened to my eyes, but the throbbing pain made it impossible to remember, and trying to focus felt like a knife was being driven between my eyes.
I heard the beeping sound again, annoying me greatly, as if it was trying to add insult to my injury. I swallowed thickly, trying to coat my throat with enough moisture to talk, but it didn't feel like it did anything, I would need water if I was going to talk.
I tried to see if blinking would help with my eyes. I had got about forty percent of my vision back, when I heard the door open.
Looking up I first noticed that the 'beeping sound' had been a heart monitor, and that it looked like I was in a hospital room. The light came from the white overhead lights, much brighter than my normal bedroom lighting.
I winced as my headache got worse, and tried to focus on the person who had come in.
The person looked like they were a nurse, white coat and all. They were examining something on a clipboard. Looking up, they saw that I was awake.
I felt relieved that I was at the hospital, surely they could help with my throat and eyes, and the horrible, stabbing pain in my head.
"Oh, you woke up! It looked like that on our monitors, so I came in to check." She had a very calm, soothing voice.
"H-!" I tried to speak, but it was the same as before.
She smiled gently at me and said, "don't worry, your throat is just dry, you've been unconscious for several months, you should be able to speak after a small glass of water."
That I was relieved to know, then I focused on her other words. 'Unconscious?' I thought, 'for several months?' What had happened to me?
Getting me a small cup of water, she propped my head up gently, ordering me to drink slowly. She told me it had been many months since I had properly digested food, and too much too fast would make me sick, risking throwing up.
"Now, then can you tell me your name, finally?"
I was confused, shouldn't the hospital already have my information?
Feeling as if there was a thick fog in my head, I tried to remember.
"Yuuki, I think. Asuna yuuki." I told her slowly. Yes, that was definitely my name, but why did it take so long to remember?
"Well, Asuna, you got into some really bad trouble before you came here, unfortunately we didn't have anyway to ID you, so we couldn't contact any family of yours. I'm sure they must be worried sick."
Her words made me panic. "Oh, my god!"
If she was telling the truth, then my family was probably going out of their minds, worried about me, probably thinking I was dead. My heart broke as I imagined my fathers face, full of concern for me.
"Anyways, do you remember your house phone number? I can contact them right away if you do."
Distantly, I told her the number, which had been the same since I was eight years old.
She left to see if I remembered correctly, and I took the time to study my body. Piercing pain still stabbed in my head, making my eyes fill with tears. Trying to lift my arm took so much work, I was only able to lift it a few inches, before letting it fall again. My body felt so weak, like I hadn't moved it in years, not months. I was thankfully able to wiggle my toes, so it looked like I wouldn't be paralyzed, though it took too much energy to move my legs.
Looking down at myself, I noticed I was in a hospital gown, and that an iv was in my arm. I always hated blood, so I looked away quickly. It was then that I finally noticed something on my stomach, that lifted up the blanket slightly. Confused, I used some of the strength I had regained, and looked under my blanket. I saw a thick lump under my hospital gown, where my stomach was, and I thought it was some type of bandaging, until I touched it. That wasn't any padding, that was me!
'What?' I thought to myself, confused. Had I broken something? Was something swollen? Surely, even if I had done nothing but lay down for several months, I would be skinnier, not fatter, right?
Horrified, I prodded at my stomach more, as if it were a bubble that would eventually pop.
I jumped, then groaned in pain, when the door opened suddenly, the same nurse as before coming in.
"Well, it looks like you remember correctly, I talked to your family, and they should arrive in a hour or so."
An hour? Were they traveling somewhere? Why were they so far away?
Dazedly, I shook off my thoughts, and asked her the question that I had been meaning to. "What happened to me?"
She grimaced, and told me, "you were near an alleyway, close to a bookstore and coffee shop. You were hit in the head with a blunt object, and lost a lot of blood. One of the employees at the coffee shop found you and called the police, but you had lost too much blood, and had a major head injury, so you didn't wake up until now."
Frightened, I listened as she continued.
"You had no form of identification on you, so we couldn't contact anybody for you. I have been your nurse the entire time you've been here. You have a few assigned nurses, up to date on your situation. The blunt force trauma, and the blood loss kept you in a coma for six months."
I felt numb, like I couldn't feel my face properly. Six months?! And nobody could call and tell my family where I was. I felt sick as I imagined the pain they had gone through. I blinked back tears, and tried to calm myself down.
Finally, I was able to speak again, and asked her, "what happened to my stomach?"
She looked sympathetic, and reluctantly told me. "Well, during your first month here, many tests were done, and eventually one turned up positive. You are currently seven months pregnant."
'Pregnant!?' The world seemed to tilt from where it was normally. 'I can't be Pregnant!' Horrified, I realized what must of happened to me.
"Was.." My voice faltered, "was I raped?" My voice shook on that last word.
"We did examine your body, and found no evidence of sexual assault, and you seem farther along than you would if it happened during your attack, so it seems like this happened before the incident. Do you not have any idea of how this happened? Did you have a boyfriend?"
Still numb, I shook my head.
She looked at me sadly. "Are you sure? You don't have to lie if you do. Did you have sex with somebody you're not in a relationship with? Or someone you're not supposed to? Do you feel like you might be in danger if you tell?"
Realizing she thought I might be abused by someone, I told her, "No! No, I'm a virgin, or at least I thought I was, I don't even have a boyfriend!" Had I let this happen? Was it consensual?
"Okay, then, we'll have to wait until your parents arrive, then maybe we can find out more information about this."
Swallowing hard, I nodded at her, worrying about what my family would say. I knew my dad would be utterly devastated, his dead for all he knew daughter, suddenly showing up, seven months pregnant. I knew he would not be angry at me, that he would be more relieved I was alive at all, but I knew this would be hard on him. 'And my mom...' I winced. She would probably be relieved at first, but after she had calmed down, there was no way I wasn't getting yelled at. Though she loved me, mother hated when I didn't follow the plans she laid for me. She would definitely be angry. Out of concern, maybe, but really, really angry.
And my brother... I tried to think of something else.
Another nurse came in and checked on me, filling out stuff on a chart as she did. I was given another glass of water, which I took gratefully.
When the first nurse came in and told me my family had arrived, I almost hyperventilated. I squared my shoulders, and took a deep breath.
My brother came in first, and almost ran to me. I thought he was going to launch himself straight over my bed, but he paused right in front of me. He stared at my face and breathed deeply for a few seconds, then hesitantly touched my face.
"Asuna? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" He looked at the bandages on my head.
"I'm fine, Kouichirou. Have I really been in the hospital that long? What did the doctor tell you. It feels like I was at home just yesterday."
My father, Shouzou spoke up then, "Sweetheart, we thought you might be dead. No word from you for six whole months. I can't believe you've been here all this time." He looked choked up by the end of it.
My heart broke for my father. I must have made them worry so much, and I felt a rising hatred for the person who put me in this hospital.
My brother lightly grabbed my hand, and my father kissed my forehead gently. I heard a choking sound, and looked up to see my mother crying. I had put them all through hell. I felt some nudge, in my brain, like there was somebody else who was supposed to be here, but I couldn't think of who.
After letting us reacquaint ourselves for a few minutes, the doctor cleared her throat.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I still have to tell you about Ms. Yuuki's condition."
My mother looked panicked for a second. "She's- she's going to live right!?"
"Of course," my doctor reassured her, "she should make a full recovery, with just a few scars from the incident."
My father looked at my face, and the gauze wrapped around it. "Isn't there anything we can do about that? I don't want it to ruin her face."
I felt a moment of panic, as I hadn't considered what my face must look like. I had always been beautiful-ish, and I suppose people might have treated me differently because of that. I wondered how they would treat me now.
"Well, there is plastic surgery, but she will always probably have a scar. As it is now, her face should go back to normal, just with some scaring."
My family looked relieved. "Good."
My doctor cast a sideways look at me and said. "There is one more thing..."
I braced myself for this and cringed into the hospital bed.
"She is seven months pregnant." The doctor told them.
My mother let out a horrified gasp and said, "No! She- she was raped!?"
"No, we examined her body after the attack, and she showed no signs of sexual assault. Additionally, the length of her pregnancy makes it likely to have been caused prior to her accident."
All of a sudden, my mothers mood flipped like a switch.
"ASUNA YUUKI! Is it that boys? Did he force himself on you?! Did you let him?!" My mother looked like she was going to have an aneurysm.
It felt like somebody had slammed a mallet on my head, my mothers shrieks doing nothing for my throbbing brain. 'That boy?' I thought to myself, 'who was she talking about?'
"Mom! Mom! Slow down! Who are you talking about?!"
"You know who I'm talking about Asuna! That boy! The one you keep on insisting on being with, despite the fact that you could have somebody much better than him! That stupid boy from that no good game!"
Trying to comprehend my mothers word through the pounding in my head, I said, "what game!? What boy?! I don't remember how this happened! I swear!"
My father put his hand on my moms shoulder and looked at me. "Asuna? What's the last thing you remember?"
Swallowing, I tried to think through the fog in my head. "We were visiting auntie's place, and cousin Rin was talking about the trip her school was taking. She had broke up with her boyfriend, and didn't want to go."
My father just stared at me for a second. "Asuna? How old do you think you are?"
Confused, I told him, "well, I was in a coma for - what was it, six months? - so fifteen or sixteen, right?"
My brother shook his head, "Asuna, you're eighteen, don't you remember?"
Hopelessly, I shook my head, "I thought the doctor said I was only out for a few months?" Could I have really forgotten three years?
My mother scanned my face, and satisfied I was telling the truth said, "alright, we'll talk to the doctor and see when you can come home. Then we can deal with it."
Both my father and I looked shocked she had calmed down so easily. I didn't quite like the look in my mothers eyes.
The doctor told them it would be several weeks until I could come home, so eventually my parents left, to let me sleep. My brother decided to stay the night.
Asuna's father (Shouzou) Pov
Today had been the worst - and best - day of my life. My precious daughter was alive, of that I was grateful, but pregnant at the tinder age of eighteen. Also concerning was her memory loss, something that the doctor hadn't guaranteed would come back. My breathed out deeply, my fingers shaking on the steering wheel of the car.
"We'll need to tell Kazuto's family." I said, glancing at my wife. It hurt to imagine my daughter being intimate with anyone, especially at this age, but at least it looked like it was consensual.
"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary." Kyouko said casually.
I frowned at the road to our house. She had always disliked him, but still, he had proven himself to me. Throughout my daughters disappearance, he had shown upmost concern, calling for any updates, volunteering any help he could. He truly acted like he loved her.
"So, you intend to just dump a baby on him in a few months, when Asuna gives birth? She'll need his help when the baby arrives."
From the corner of my eye, I saw my wife smile bitterly. "Oh, I don't intend for Asuna to keep the baby."
Alarmed, I said, "Asuna will never give it up. Do not force it on her. We will lose our daughter if you do." I knew my daughter would never get rid of her baby. And, even though I was in no way ready for it, I wanted to be in my grandchild's life.
Kyouko sniffed, offhandedly. "I'll get her to change her mind. Besides, this is a great opportunity."
Feeling as if I didn't want to know, I asked slowly, "What opportunity?"
"We can finally get rid of him. Don't you remember? Asuna doesn't remember Kazuto. According to the doctor, she might never. Let's hope for the best. If we get rid of the baby, it's like he never happened."
Feeling startled as I realized her plan, I said, "they said she might not remember, not definitely wouldn't remember. And, if you do this Asuna will never talk to you again if she does."
"I'm willing to take my chances, if it will set my daughter on the right track."
"Kyou-" I started.
She interrupted me, "think about it. Asuna has acted differently since she was trapped in that death game. Don't you think it's best she forgets all about it? A nice, fresh start? Think about the horrors she must of saw. How it must of been like in there. It's better she forgets all of that."
I understood where she was coming from, I was concerned for my daughters wellbeing, too. But, still I hesitated. "I don't know..."
"Trust me, Shouzou, it will help her in the end."
Even though I knew I would probably regret it, I finally agreed. "Alright. We shall see if Asuna remembers on her own. If she doesn't I guess it's a sign."
Even as I said it, I knew I shouldn't have given in.
My wife smiled. "Trust me, this will all work out for Asuna."
~End of chapter one~
