Chapter 3: Headaches, and revelations
Kazuto woke up to see Asuna sleeping peacefully on top of him, making him smile. It had been a week since Asuna moved in, and it was quite a busy week.
Asuna needed a new school uniform, since she refused to return to her old home. She also needed clothes for when she's not at school, and poor Kazuto had to accompany her the whole time. They also had been getting teased by Rika about them living together, but they knew that was just Rika being Rika. Almost every day, they went to Dicey Café to hang out with friends, or just to spend some time together outside of the house. Asuna had been getting several calls from her mother, but she never answered one of them.
Kazuto was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a pair of lips on his. He focused back into reality to find Asuna kissing him gently. She pulled away and smiled, "Finally found a way to keep you from spacing out." She whispered with a slight giggle.
Kazuto smirked, "That being kissing me whenever I start to zone out?" He asked playfully.
Asuna leaned herself down closer to him, "I don't hear you complaining." She whispered.
Kazuto smiled, "Because I'm not." He then closed the distance and kissed Asuna. As they kissed, it slowly began to get more passionate. Kazuto, while loving the feeling of what was happening, made sure to keep himself in check. He didn't want to touch anything that would be indecent, knowing that she must still be recovering from the humiliation Sugou put her through.
Kazuto noticed his hand began to get dangerously close to her rear, and jerked his hand away, breaking the kiss. Asuna looked up at him, "What? What happened?" She asked, annoyed that he ruined their little moment.
Kazuto blushed, "U-uh…well…m-m-my hand…it almost…uh…" He stopped there, afraid of what would happen to him if he finished.
Asuna sighed, "I know where your hand was going, Kirito." She said, "And I don't care. At least, not when it's you." She blushed fiercely.
Kazuto blushed deeper as well, "B-but…I know you haven't fully recovered from…you know." He then hung his head, "I know you still have bad dreams about it. I hear you mumbling his name, and you shake. Like you're afraid. That's why I stopped. I know you're still scared of things like that."
He then looked straight at Asuna, "Besides, you look me straight in the eye and tell me you're over what happened." Asuna began to do as he said and looked straight into his eyes, but as she did, she realized that she was still very self-conscious.
Asuna let out a sigh, "You're right. I'm not. I'm sorry Kirito…" Kazuto lifted her chin and leaned in and pecked her cheek, "You don't have anything to apologize for."
They got up, ate a quick breakfast, and then returned to Kazuto's room to get their nerve gear helmets ready. They decided they needed a day to just relax with Yui. "Link start!" They said in unison.
They found themselves on floor 51 of New Aincrad. Asuna's ownership of her old house was, somehow, transferred into New Aincrad. Yui was still somewhat adjusting to her new home when her parents arrived. She ran up to them, "Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!" She said as she was picked up by her father, "So Yui, what do you think of your new home?" He asked her.
Yui looked down, "Well…I like it…but…I still really miss our old home…in that forest." She then noticed Asuna looking slightly disheartened, "B-but it's still a lot of fun here too! Please don't be mad at me, Mommy!" She begged.
Asuna couldn't help but chuckle, "I'm not mad at you sweetie." She said as she took her daughter from Kirito, "It's just that I miss our log cabin too." Kirito hugged the two girls, "Hey, let's head down a couple floors. I got something for you two."
Kirito guided Asuna and Yui down to floor 22 and they came upon a log cabin that had, apparently, been purchased. Asuna frowned, "If it's purchased, then we can't live here. Why'd he send us here to see this?"
Kirito looked behind him to see the looks of sorrow on the two girl's faces, "What are you two so sad about? We just got our home back." He said as he pulled the key out of his inventory.
Asuna and Yui quickly grabbed Kirito and hugged him like there was no tomorrow, "Thank you so much!" Asuna said, "You're the best Daddy!" Yui added.
The three made their way inside and started to quickly feel at home, when Yui suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
Kirito, who had just walked back in from the main bedroom, where he and Asuna were redecorating, noticed this, "Yui? Is something wrong?" He asked.
Yui faced her father, a hand upon her head, "I think I'm getting some kind of head ache." She said.
Kirito quickly walked up to her and knelt down, "Head ache? Is that even possible?"
Yui, now grasping her head with both hands, shook her head, "No. I don't know what's happening to me…" Then, her eyes went foggy and she started to fall over.
"Yui!" Kirito exclaimed as he caught her.
Asuna rushed in, having heard Kirito yell, "What's going on?" She asked wordily.
Kirito, still holding his daughter, stood up and turned to face her, "I don't know. First she says she's got a headache, then the next thing I know, she faints." Now very worried, Asuna rushed to Yui and tapped her cheek, "Yui! Yui! Can you hear me? Wake up! YUI!"
Meanwhile in the real world. The men were watching the capsule, "Yep. Definitely stable. Ok, let's shut the pod down." One man said.
Just then, the other man spoke up, "Wait! We both know how the contents will react. Let's quit for now, and call them in. They're the best ones to handle this."
After some thought, the first man disengaged the process and watched the capsule fully reactivate. "I guess it would be a good way to reward them, at least." The second man chuckled, "This is gonna be one hell of a reward."
Back in New Aincrad. Yui opens her eyes to find herself in a bed in the log cabin, "Yui?" She hears her mother ask.
She turns to her, "M-mommy?" She asks in a daze.
Asuna gasps as she hugs her daughter, tears of joy pouring down her face, "Oh Yui! Thank goodness…I was so worried…Please don't scare mommy like that ever again."
Yui hugged her back smiling, "I'm sorry Mommy. But I'm feeling fine now. Really." She said reassuringly. Asuna pulled back from the hug and smiled, "I'm glad."
Yui looked around the room to see that it was just her and Asuna, "Where's Daddy?" She asked.
Asuna sat down on the bed next to the girl, "He logged out just a moment ago, he's using his computer to try and find out what might have happened to you." The younger girl nodded, "Then can you go tell him I'm ok? I think I'm going to try and get some sleep now." She said as she yawned.
Asuna giggled at her in-game daughter, "She is just too cute sometimes." She thought to herself, "Ok, but after I tuck you in." She said. Yui didn't object, she always liked it when Asuna got really motherly. Once Asuna had tucked Yui into bed, she kissed her forehead, "Sweet dreams Yui. I love you." Yui smiled tenderly back at her mother, "I love you too Mommy." She then closed her eyes and began to drift to sleep.
Asuna woke up, quickly removing the nerve gear from her head, and turned to see Kazuto, typing away at his computer with extreme speeds. Asuna stood up and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Yui's ok now. She's resting in the log cabin." She told him.
Kazuto sighed in relief, "That's good to hear, especially with the luck I've had on this." He said, gesturing to his three screens, all of which were covered in random codes. Asuna eyed the monitors, "What do you mean?" She asked, "I can't find anything. No malfunctions, no hacking, nothing. I even checked to make sure it wasn't some kind of maintenance procedure, but that turned out empty also." He answered.
Asuna hummed in thought, "Well, it's obvious we're not gonna find out what happened today. So, for now, let's just settle with knowing that she's ok."
Kazuto nodded, "Yeah. That's what's important. So what should we do now?" He asked curiously. Just then, Kazuto's phone went off. He picked up the phone and pressed the answer button, "Hello?" He asked, "Kazuto Kirigaya. We need to speak with you." The man said.
Kazuto groaned, recognizing his voice from when the government de-briefed him on the happenings of SAO and ALO, "I've already told you guys everything. What more could you possibly need?" He asked, "There's been a big development recently, and we need you to come and see. We want to confirm our suspicions."
Kazuto perked his ear in interest, "What did you guys find?" "That's not something that I can say on an open channel. You'll receive the directions via email from a secure sender. Meet up with two of our agents there ASAP. Oh, and bring Asuna Yuuki. That is all." The man said before hanging up.
Asuna looked at Kazuto, "Kirito, who was that?" She asked.
Kazuto shook his head, "The government. I'm supposed to receive an email soon with directions to some location. Apparently they found something and want us to make sure it is what they think it is." He went back to his computer and checked his email to find a new message. When he opened it, he was surprised to see it was directions to Argus.
The two soon arrived to see two men in suits, "Kazuto Kirigaya, and Asuna Yuuki. We've been expecting you." The first man said.
Kazuto nodded, "By the way, I recognize both of you from when I told the gov. about SAO and ALO, don't I get to learn your names by now?" He asked.
"No." They answered plainly and in unison.
The first man guided them in, while the other stayed at the door, "We found a secret room that holds what's left of the original Sword Art Online game." He explained, "And, among everything. We found something that we want you two to look after, assuming we've been correct in our calculations."
Asuna tilted her head, "Look after? What exactly is it?" She asked curiously.
The man chuckled, "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you right now, just follow me." They walked in to Kaiyaba's old office, and the man pulled on one of the books on the shelf, revealing a secret passage.
Kazuto leaned over to Asuna, "Oldest trick in the book…literally." He whispered, making Asuna giggle. They were lead inside and the man brought them up to the pod-like chamber.
"Does that person look familiar to the two of you?" He asked. Kazuto and Asuna studied the body for a moment before they both gasped. Asuna was the first person to find her voice, "Yui…"
