Chapter 1-Relocation
This is the sequel to SAO: Tales from the Coffin. In this story Mikael is back except this time he is in the real world. Mikael has now begun his search for his brother after learning the real identity of a player known as Kirito. He isn't alone in his search as the person he knows as HACKER is help him while HACKER has Mikael help him with his own mission. This story take place right after the Phantom Bullet Arc in main SAO storyline.
I put the last of my virtual reality equipment into the box. I looked around the empty room that used to be my bedroom. I felt strange seeing it completely emptyexcept for the one box that contained my VR equipment and the games I had with it. I opened the box slightly to take a look at the game I had placed on the top. I looked at the game case of Sword Art Online. "I can't believe it has been a year since this death game was beaten, I wonder how they are doing" I said to myself think about Kirito, Asuna, Klein, Lizbeth and Agil. "I should of went to that celebration when Agil invited me" I said yet again to myself. I thought back to what happen during the two year in SAO. I then remember what happened the day that I woke up.
(Flashback)
After have taking my time to getting ready. My adoptive parent came into my room with Lisa behind them. My adoptive mother Yukiko instantly hugged me when she saw me standing near the mirror. I felt her tears through my hospital gown. "Oh Mikael my child I am so glad that you have woken up" she told me. "It's okay mom I'm fine it's good to see you again" I responded. My adoptive father John put his hand on my mother shoulder and said "Come on Yukiko, Mikael just got up he still hasn't fully recovered." "I know it just that I'm so happy to have my little boy back" My mother responded. Suddenly a doctor came through the door into my hospital room. "Oh you must be Mikael's parent. I'm sorry to ask this but you will need to leave the room for a moment as I just need to check Mikael's health" he told my parents. "Okay we will leave the room and be back after the check-up is done with your clothes Mikael" my mother said to me. "Thanks Mom" I responded. My parents and sister soon left the room leaving me alone with the doctor. "Okay could please sit on the bed please" He told me. I did what he asked while he called for a nurse who brought in a cart full medical equipment. As I sat on the bed he told me "okay I just going to check your health to see if it okay to let you leave since you have spent two years stuck in the virtual world." He picked up the stethoscope and check my heart beat before writing something down on a clipboard. He then took out reflex hammer and tapped it against my knee which caused it to flinch. He once again wrote something down on the clipboard. "Okay could you please step on the weight scale" he asked. I got off the bed and stepped on the weight scale. It said 80 kilograms. "Okay now I just need to take blood sample and then we would be done here. You should count yourself lucky that you are healthy but you were being fed by a man who kept coming in every day" he told me as he took out a needle.
"Wait someone came to see me every day and kept me fed" I asked him. "Yep he is now waiting outside to meet you" he told me while the needle made contact with my arm. My blood filled the entire needle. "Okay we are going to check your blood and get the result to you by next week. Okay that is all the test for today. You just need to come back tomorrow since we will need to see if your brain has been affected" the doctor told me as he left the room. Suddenly a tall man dressed in a suit came into the room. "It's a pleasure to meet Mikael Kitagawa, I am Amano Naozane" He said to me. "It's nice to meet you too Mr Naozane. I take it that you were the one who was looking after me. I guess I should thank you" I told him. "That thank you is not necessary. My employer asked me to take care of you" he said to me. "Your employer?" I asked him. "Yes my employer soon it necessary that you are look after while in the virtual world" he told me. All of the sudden a phone began ringing. I took it out of his pocket and tapped it. "Yes sir, it's Naozane" he said into the phone. "Yes I am with him right now. He knows that someone was looking after him. You want me to put him on" He said. "Okay understood sir" he responded into the phone before handing it to me. "Hello" I said into the phone. "Hello Mikael" responded a distorted voice. "Who is this" I asked the other person on the phone. "This is HACKER, Mikael" the voice told me. "How do I know your HACKER. Tell me something only HACKER would know" I asked them. "Okay" the voice said before then telling me the whole story of me and Akuro which I had only told HACKER. "Okay I believe you are who you say you are. Well I guess I should thank you for looking after me" I told him. "Your welcome also thank you as well" he said to me. "Why are you thanking me" I asked him. "Because of you all those people are now back in the real as well as I was able to pay back a debt" He told me. "A debt" I asked him curiously. "Yeah I will tell you about it when we meet in the real world. But Mikael there is reason I am contacting you now. Sword Art Online may be over but I need your help. The system that ran SAO known as the Cardinal was taking away from ARGUS and was given to several different companies who have used it created games. I need to go into those games and beat them when you have beaten them a will be able to upload a program into the system which will stop another incident like SAO from happening. So what do you say Mikael will you help me" he told me.
"Only two question why me and why should I do this after I just got out of the virtual world" I asked him. "Mikael I need your help with this because I need someone that I can trust to do this job and since you are the only gamer I can trust it made sense that I would get your help after we helped each other in Sword Art Online. As for why you should do this is simple if you do this job for me then will reward you for each game that you beat. This first game would reward you with a chance to finish your course at college rather than being held back a year at the school the government is setting up. I will also help you get a job as well as you own place to live. I will also pay you for your co-operation. You have been paid 187029515230 yen for beaten Sword Art Online. (That amount of yens is worth 1 billion pounds) I will pay you the same amount at the start of each game and at the end of each game. How does that sound do we have a deal?" he told me. I thought about it for a while since I had just gotten out of the virtual world and now here was someone I had never met asking me to go back into that world but then also thought if HACKER is a hacker then he might be able to help me find the truth about my brother and whether that was him I met in Sword Art Online. I took a breath before I said "Okay I will help you but I want you to look into two people first and find out what you can please." "Okay who are these people then" he asked. "Kazuto Kirigaya and a player named Akuro" I told him. "Okay I will look into this people for you. I look forward to working with you Mikael also keep this phone that way I can keep in contact with you" he said before he hung up. I noticed that Amano had disappeared leaving me alone in the room. I put the phone and waited for my parents to return with my clothes.
(End of Flashback)
This jobs weren't all that hard as I was able to get through most of the games with ease. It was due to this job that I was now moving to a different town and have a lead on my brother's location. I wonder will he remember me after all he was little when I last saw him.
(Flashback)
I was working on my motorcycle when I heard the familiar ringtone of my phone. "Hey HACKER" I said into the phone. "Hello Mikael, how are you" He responded. "I'm doing fine just working on my bike with the part that I have bought. So what job do you have for me this time" I asked since most of the time he ring me to tell me the next job he wants me to do or to tell me information on any hints as to where my brother is. "Well this is both a job I have for you and I also have I response from that company you applied to" He told me. I was completely off guard as it had been a week since I applied to Zeo Technology a company that both made VR games and technology on their own since the company RECT it was business partner was report to be partly response for hold people in the virtual world in their game called Alfhiem Online (Fairy Dance ARC). "You serious they responded to my application" I asked him. "Yep it seems they were impressed with your work on the game Bounty Hunter Online(BHO) (If you wish to know more about this game you will have to wait for the story on it) and they have hired you to be a game designer for their next game" he told me. "wow so what does that have to do with the job you have for me then" I asked him. "That I simple I am located in Nishitokyo as well as some rather than have to have Amano help you through emails he can aid you in person as well. I have also have a place that is yours when you move to down here" he said to me. "Okay so what is the game this time?" I asked him.
"Oh Amano will tell you the game when he meets you. So when can you move down here then" he said. "I think I can move down in about two weeks since I have to finish my bike and then pack up all of my things. Is that okay" I told him. "Yep unlike the last few games this one is one that we can take time on" he told me.
(End of Flashback)
I was loading the last box into the van. I was fortune enough that my father knew someone who had van that I could borrow. I closed both the doors and turned to my mother, father and sister. "Good luck Mikael living on your own" my father said. "It's going to be quiet empty around the house without you. Oni-Chan" Lisa told me before she gave me a hug. After the hug I turned to my mother who was trying not to cry. "Son I can't expression how happy I am for you. Ever since we adopted you I always felt like you were my son even though I didn't give birth to you. It just that I'm so sad that I didn't get to spend more time with you this year since you were stuck in that awful game for two years" she said as was soon unable to hold back those tears and began cry. I hugged her and said "Mon I'm am so proud that you looked after me for so many years. I too wish that we could have spent more time together as well but this is a good thing. It shows that you and dad have both raised me well enough that I can live on my own. And no matter want happens when I find him you, dad and Lisa will always be my family" I told her since she was the only one who I had told the truth about why I was moving as well as where I was getting most of the money in my account. "I know it just that it so sad to see that four-year-old had grown up into the man before me. I love you Mikael and not matter what you do I will support your decision to find him. If your mother and father were alive now they would feel just as proud as I do" She told me before releasing me from her hug. I then walked to the driver seat of the van and looked at my family one last time before starting the engine.
I opened the window and told them "Goodbye Mother Father Sister, I will miss you." I then drove down the road to begin the journey to Nishitokyo. I looked in the mirror to see my family was waving me goodbye. I smiled but was sad by the thought that this may be the last time I see them. I continued driving as the journey to Nishitokyo would take at least a day at most.
Yuikiko POV
I kept looking at the direction that Mikael had driven in. "Mom are you sure that he will be able to find him" my daughter asked me. "I'm sure that Mikael will be able to find his little brother. After all he is his father's son" I told her. "Hey mom is the reason you adopted Mikael because of uncle" she asked me. "No the reason I adopted Mikael was because of his mother. His mother and I were good friend when we both in university together. It was because we were friend that Mikael and Kazuto's parents met" I told her. "Hey mom how comes you never told Mikael that you were his aunt since you are the sister of his father" she said to me. "Because he already knows that" I told her. "How does he know that if you never told him" she asked. "When Mikael was 8 he hacked into the adoption files of the orphanage he was in before we adopted him" I responded to her. "Wow so he knew all this time and yet he still acted like he didn't know" she said with surprise in her voice. "Maybe he didn't want to feel like he wasn't a part of this family if he asked about it" I told her. "It doesn't matter if he is my cousin I will always see him as my brother and a part of this family" she responded.
"That is true my daughter. He will always be a part of our family no matter what" I said. "Brother and Masako (I don't exactly know Kazuto parent's name since he never says their name so I will just choose two name when they are talked about), your little boy has grown up so well. If you could see him now I know you would be proud of him" I said to myself.
Mikael POV
"My adoptive mother was my aunt" I said to myself. "I wonder did she knew I knew after all I told her what I did when I was eight years' old. Ah brother it seem we both have something in common we were both raised by are Aunts." I asked myself. I continued to drive until I came across the one place I need to visit before I head to Nishitokyo. I walked through the graveyard until I came to the grave I was here to see. I knelt down beside it and said "Hey Akuro it's good to see you. I wish you were here with me now, if you could see me now you would be surprised at what I did and that I helped to bring an end to SAO. The reason I came here today was to say I'm sorry. When you told me to leave Laughing Coffin I should have listened to you then maybe you would still be alive. Heck if you could see me now I wonder what you would tell me. But there is something I want to tell you I'm going to find my brother as well as I will redeem myself by doing this job. It was nice talking to you Akuro" I said to the grave which said on it AKURO KURATA 19TH NOVEMBER 2002-15TH DECEMBER 2023.
HACKER POV
Me and Amano were both sat in my study while the wood fire was burn lighting up the room. "Sir is it okay if I ask you this but why exactly did you ask Mikael to help with this quest of yours" Amano asked me while I was drinking my tea. "It's okay Amano you have been a friend of my family for as long as I can remember. The reason why I asked Mikael to help me is because I trust him but also because of his father" I told him. "what about Hikaru Kirigaya meant that you would ask his son for help" he said to me while sipping his tea. "Mikael's father was a great man; he was also my mentor when I was in college as he taught me all I knew about technology. He was also the only person I confined the truth about who I am in. Besides being my mentor he was also my best friend we would talk for hour without noticing the time. When Mikael was born I was the first person outside his family who got to see him. On the day of the accident the last he told me before he got into the car was look after my son for me because one day he and you will become good friends" I told him. "So the reason you are working with him now is because of his father but that doesn't exactly explain why" Amano said to me. "The reason why is because I owe his father since I was caught hacking one time and Hikaru protect me by saying that I didn't know how to hack. Ever since that day I felt that I owe him so the reason I am working with his son is because by helping him I feel that I am paying back his father" I said to him.
"Okay sir but what happens when he finds out that you are connected to Aki" I cut him off by saying "DON'T SAY THAT NAME IN FRONT OF ME." "I apologise sir I should of know that his name would make you angry" he said to me. "I'm sorry Amano I shouldn't have yelled at you for saying a person name it just that man did so much against me" I responded. "Sir why did you become a hacker since you never told me" He asked. "The reason I became a hacker is because I wanted to put Hikaru taught me to good use as well as when I was little I had a gift for access file that should be accessed" I responded to his question while drinking my tea. "I see sir" he responded. "Mikael I hope that when you learn the truth about me and your parent maybe you will understand why I am doing the things I do" I thought to myself.
UNKNOWN POV
"So Mikael you are coming to Nishitokyo" I said looking the record of Mikael and some guy called HACKER. "I can't wait for us to meet again after all I still have to pay you back for what you did to Laughing Coffin. Since when you enter the Virtual World again you will not be leaving that world. For when we meet and trust me we will meet. I and Death's Blade will take you down and get the Retribution we deserve. This is the Retribution of Laughing Coffin" I said while looking at Laughing Coffins symbol. "How long are you going to look at that symbol" a female voice behind me said. "Why are you here" I asked her. "Too make sure things are going as plan" she told me. "Don't worry everything will go exactly as plan" I replied to her. "Very well" she responded before disappearing.
The first chapter of SAO: Redemption. So much has been revealed in this chapter but so much is yet to be reveal in this story. In the next chapter Mikael prepares to enter the Virtual World once more but this time he will have help in his mission. Also with this story the chapter will take time since unlike Tales from the Coffin, Redemption isn't planned out chapter to chapter so I will be writing down when I can. Also be on the lookout for other fanfiction I write as I don't know how far Mikael's story will go.
