"Onii-chan! Wake up already!"
"Alright, alright."
Kazuto Kirigaya was in a semi-awake state. He knew that today was his birthday, yet he somehow could not feel the energy needed to be awake. He wondered why that was. It's as if each day was a passing thought to him, and that no matter how much he tried to care about his birthday, he just couldn't. But somewhere, in his subconscious, he didn't want to forget that moment. On his 10th birthday, he had learned a dark truth about his past; his name was "Kazuto Narusaka", and that his mother was actually his aunt. Ever since then, he had been left with an identity crisis, and chose to devote his life to computers instead of his "family". His birthday, instead of bringing the family together, ironically drove them apart. However, after the SAO incident, he chose to make amends with his family, and especially, his little sister, Suguha, who loved him so much.
"Hurry up and get out of bed already!"
Suguha had been preparing for this auspicious day. She had all her friends from her kendo club bring presents to Kazuto. She had initially tried to get something he would like, but she was racking her brain trying to come up with the perfect present, because while she wasn't as distant to Kazuto as she was before the SAO incident, she couldn't see what went through his head.
Now that it had come to this, Kazuto was wondering what to do, until a brainwave hit him. He had a soft giggle to himself.
"What's the matter, Onii-chan?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing. See you, Sugu."
"O… Ok."
Kazuto left his room.
"What was that about?"
Kazuto went over to his school, the SAO survivor school. To him, the game of Sword Art Online was an emotional roller coaster. He had to fight to survive, however, eventually he learnt to find peace within the game. His relationship with Asuna Yuuki, had changed everything for him. He had lived most of his life in the net. For him to meet someone like her, was unthinkable for him. And that's when he realized that the virtual world was something more than what he was.
When the creator of SAO, Kayaba Akihiko, had taken him up to witness the destruction of the floating castle of Aincrad, Kazuto felt mixed emotions. On one hand, he could not forgive Kayaba for what he did. On the other, he was fascinated by the virtual world he created. Upon looking at the endless possibilities, Kazuto took it upon himself to connect the virtual world with the real world.
Today, when he went to school, he was met with the biggest surprise. He was greeted by his friends Asuna, Rika and Keiko, but they were in for a direct approach.
"Hey look, the special guest has arrived today."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
At this moment, they were left in complete shock.
"Can it be? Has Kirito forgotten about his own birthday?"
Just then, Asuna chimed in.
"No, it's not that simple. Kirito-kun is playing us."
Asuna, along with her virtual daughter Yui, had made a really complex plan, a plan to trick Kazuto.
Meanwhile, Kazuto had been working on his mechatronics and his project, a way to get Yui into the real world, a bicommunications probe. For him, it was a blessing to have a daughter like her. She was his link between the real world and virtual world. She was a super-powerful AI with the ability to move within the network. But she didn't have a way to experience the real world. Kazuto hoped that this recent project of his would provide Yui with a way.
After school today, Kazuto got together with his friends.
"Hello, Kirito-kun."
"Hello, everyone."
"So, have you decided on where to go together?"
"Of course, we'll hang out in ALO in a few hours."
Asuna pouted a little in reaction to this, but it was mainly a setback. No matter what Kazuto chose, Asuna was sure to anticipate it.
"Ok, sure, then I'll go ahead and tell everyone."
He then went home and put on his Amusphere.
"LINK START!"
Kirito went off to ALO to do a quest of his own. He went into a secret area that he had kept secret from all his friends. There was a mini-boss in Floor 18 that was said to give him a rare and valuable item. He defeated him and got the "Item of Friendship". For Kirito, having wonderful friends like the one made during SAO was a blessing for him. He went through hardships like losing some of the people he cared about. But in all of those trials, he found very few people that he could cherish. As he pondered on this item, he decided that he should show it to his friends who had been with him through thick and thin.
Kirito went over to his residence in Yggdrasil City. However, he found the place to be eerily quiet. He expected this, however and went to plan a new countermeasure. However, his perpetrator had thought ten steps ahead. Pretty soon, the group had appeared in front of him, using the Concealment spell.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRITO!"
Kirito was taken aback by this. However, he quickly composed himself.
"Care to explain?"
"Sure, Papa. You see, me and Mama had wanted to make sure you would get the biggest surprise."
"Exactly, Kirito-kun. I had to get back at you no matter what."
"Well, you were kind of mean, though."
*Pouting* "Well, you tried to do the same thing on my birthday. By the way, Kirito-kun, why did you want to make your party here?"
"Oh, well it's because I wanted to spend time in the virtual world that I love so much. And besides, I have found this item."
"Where did you get that?"
"It's called the Item of Friendship. I wanted to share it with all of you."
"Hmm, this item requires two or more people to use it."
"Well, let's give it a try, shall we?"
Everyone tried to use it, and once they did, they got each other's most favorite thing. In a way, it was like a present.
"Awesome, Onii-Chan! Did you know that item does?"
"Nope, not a clue."
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Agil had come in with a big feast and a big cake, made according to Kirito's desire.
"Hmm, this cake, don't tell me, you planned this too, Kirito?"
"Yep, I had met with Agil a few days ago in Dicey Café. I asked him to prepare a cake in ALO."
"Is that true?"
"Well, sort of. Though I was kinda expecting he'd do it in the real world though."
"That doesn't matter. Let's dig in."
Everyone had eaten to their heart's content. After they had their fill, Kirito flew over to the sky. The others followed suit. They flew as high as the system could take them, to the skies. Here, they could see the wonderful world of Alfheim Online in all its glory. The experience was breathlessly captivating for them. Afterwards, they all went back down and logged out.
Kazuto had finally realized what fun a birthday was with friends, something that he'd been lacking all his life. He swore to cherish these memories for all time.
