Unbelievable

November 7, 2022

4:10

First Floor Plains

Satoru (Saito) Narita

"So... Akane."

The day hadn't been a long one, at least not when compared to yesterday.

And yet, it was scary how much had happened. We'd foiled the plans of three evildoers-a complete exaggeration-and rescued four girls, including one who happened to be one of my closest real-life friends, Akane Fujioka.

Then, since it was just our luck, we were graciously blessed with the presence of the world's first Field Boss, «The Alpha».

Thankfully, we were able to defeat it, albeit barely. Even with all that health it'd lost, it was still a formidable creature. A part of me wondered... if the Field Boss was that tough, how strong was the actual Floor Boss?

"Yeah?" Akane said, turning her head to look at me. Her black eyes stared at me questioningly. Yet, at the same time, I could see some understanding in her expression.

I let out a short breath, gathering my thoughts.

"...how did you end up in here?" I asked, walking along the dirt path towards the Starting City. Tamashi, Irene, and Argo were up a few yards, having sensed the talk coming and collectively deciding to give us some space.

"How. Now that's a good question." She giggled, rubbing her arms. My friend raised her head to the sky, slowing her walk as a breeze past by, fluffing her raven locks and tickling her skin. I watched her, almost mesmerized.

I'd almost forgotten how pretty Akane was...

She circled around to face me, and I gazed back.

"I did it to surprise you actually."

...wait. What?

My eyes widened and my eyebrows rose. "What? What do you mean surprise me?"

Akane rolled her eyes. "You and Ichiru were always going on and on about this game. I wanted to see what all the hype was about, and plus," She put on a teasing smile.

"I wanted to see your face when I met up with you."

I smirked. "Wow." Then my eyebrows scrunched. "But wait. How would you know what my game ID was? I literally made it up on the spot."

"Yeah, that's where I was at a loss." Akane laughed. I did as well. "You're not usually this scatterbrained, dude."

"I know. I guess I was just so excited. I know I had that trip to Hokkaido tod- oh my gosh." Akane slapped both hands against her face.

"The trip's today!" She screamed. "Oh my god my parents are going to kill me!"

"Pfft, probably not, considering the circumstances..." I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. Akane's face softened, and her eyes lowered to the ground.

"Yeah... true."

"...Hey," I said, reaching to pat her back. "Don't worry about it. We've got each other now, right? We'll make it out of here, together." I gave her a reassuring smile, one which sher, after a few moments, managed to return.

"That's one thing about you, Toru." She said, reaching over and hugging me. "You always know the right thing to say."

I raised my arms, proceeding to hug her back, my smile pertaining. "Don't I?" I jested.

Soon we heard an "Aww" echo out in front of us, looking up to see Irene gushing over our display of affection. We both looked at her as she bounced up and down.

"Look bro! Argo! They're so cayute!"

Tamashi rolled his eyes, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah yeah. Come on guys."

"Yeah lovebirds! Hurry up, Saito before I tell Ren about your little fling!"

My face quickly heated up and I released the hug, puffing out my cheeks. "The heck's that supposed to mean, Argo?!"

"Nothin!" She snickered, whistling soon after. "Come on guys, we're almost there!"

Tamashi nodded and tapped his sister's arm. The two jogged up to meet Argo, Irene turning and sending us a blue-eyed wink.

"Come on you two!" She giggled.

We both looked between each other and smiled, before following after them. It would only take a few minutes before we entered through the city's gates.

4:15

Town of Beginnings/Starting City (Strener Avenue)

Reiha (Ren) Takagi

"How old are you, Skies?" I asked, bending my body slightly as we walked. She looked to me and I smiled in a friendly manner. She grinned back and skipped ahead two or three steps. The brown haired girl turned and put up one finger with her left hand, and three fingers with her right.

"Thirteen." Kirie smiled sadly. "That's so young..."

Skies nodded. "Yeah. But I'm okay! As long as I find my brother I'll be okay!" Her grin returned, sunny and warm. The youngster had failed to be anything but cheery since we'd met. She was always bouncing around, asking questions, and looking at the sights.

She acted as if we hadn't been trapped in a game against our will, like we weren't forced to fight our way out or die... And for some reason, I found a weird admiration for her because of it. She was always in high spirits, while others were downhearted and jaded, Skies was bright as ever.

I beamed, placing my hands against my hips as I followed the prancing girl. "You definitely will. Don't worry, once we find your brother, you both can stay at the Cathedral together and have lots of fun."

"Yeah!" She giggled. "I can't wait!"

Axel, the oldest out of all of us, had stayed quiet through our various conversations and antics. She only spoke up to ask what turn was coming up next, or what street we had to take. Kirie was still obviously not as excited as going as Skies and I were, but she maintained her composure and gentleness around the girl, which I was thankful for.

"Hey," The blonde spoke, hands clasped behind her back. We came to the end of the street and turned a left corner, entering onto a narrower road. "Skies, how does your brother look like?" She asked.

"Maybe we might spot him earlier if we know his general appearance."

"Good idea." Axel nodded, crossing her arms. She tilted her head. "That could help us out, Skies?"

"Right!" The girl hopped to a stop, turning around. Her menu followed her, opened to the map, with a red dot pulsing to show the last location of the player in question.

"Okay, so Akemic has like brownish-blonde hair. His eyes are brown, he gets that from mom. He also has this scar on is left cheek that goes down to his mouth. It happened from a childhood accident... but it doesn't look too weird! Girls seem to love him for it anyway."

"A scar? Okay, that would've been helpful info you could've shared earlier." Kirie stated offhandedly, crossing her arms. Skies winced and lowered her head. "Sorry, Kirie."

I frowned. "Kirie."

"What?" She shrugged her shoulders. Axel walked up and placed a hand on Skies shoulder, she squeezed reassuringly. "It's okay, Mia. You're fine. Now we know what to look out for."

"Right!" I quickly chimed in, smiling as encouragingly as possible. "Now we can find him easier."

And like that, Skies was bouncing on clouds again. "Okay, thanks, you guys!" She chirped. Kirie and I looked at each other.

We exchanged a brief, unspoken conversation before Kirie gave a heavy sigh. A smile found its way onto her lips and she shook her head.

"Not a problem, Skies." She said. I grinned. "Yup."

Skies smiled back and turned on the balls of her feet, skipping ahead. "Oh!" She exclaimed, stopping and turning. "It's just up there!" She said, pointing a building in the distance. The structure looked similar to the ones beside it, a steel-colored grey with plain windows and simple designs. It seemed to be a restaurant, from what I could see through the windows.

We arrived at the entrance, a single wooden door. The dot on Skies's map blinked brightly and pinged just as loud. There was no doubt about it, this was the place. Walking up to the door, I looked back at the group. They all gave me varying expressions, ranging from happy to concerned. I let a soft breath go, before placing my hand against the door and pushing open.

I was greeted by a woody smell, similar to fresh pine. It welcomed me in, and I took in the atmosphere of the small pub. There were wooden tables orderly placed around the large room. In the center was a dive bar surrounded by bar stools. It was dimly lit, but the sunlight from outside made sure that wasn't a problem.

The three girls walked in behind me.

"Not too shabby." Kirie remarked. Axel looked around and asked. "Hey, Mia. Do you see your brother?"

I searched around as well. There weren't that many people here. One girl sitting by herself, curled up into the corner of her seat.

A man slumped against the bar counter, snoring loudly with three empty pitchers of what I could only assume to be beer-or whatever the Aincrad equivalent of it was, nothing too out of the ordinary. Skies searched around, looking down at her map before raising her head again. She jogged forward, peeking into the various booths and such.

As I watched her near the back of the restaurant, my eyes trailed from her to the last booth. A single head had popped up, with tufts of brownish hair decorated in some weird style. I pointed across the room.

"Think that's him?" I asked.

Skies followed my finger to the booth I was aiming at. She hurried over, skidding to a stop and taking a good look at whoever it was. The three of us shared a glance before following after her. Suddenly she screamed.

"Brother!"

I smiled widely, running to meet Skies and stopping in front of her. "You found him?" I asked, looking to see who was sitting in the booth.

The man staring back tilted his head slightly. His hair was indeed a brownish-blonde in color, similar to Skies. The light of the flood lamp above accentuated his smooth skin, and his deep brown eyes peered at his sister's incredulously.

"Mia?"

"Brother, it's me!" Skies cried, running up and hugging her brother tightly. "I can't believe I found you!"

"Me neither." He mumbled, looking up to the three of us. Kirie and I exchanged a smile, as Axel slipped her hands in her pockets, staring at the scene with amusement.

"I was too scared to come look for you on my own." Skies said, loosening her hug a she turned to look at us. "But they helped me out."

"Hm." He said, turning his body to face us. That was when I saw it, the scar Alisa spoke of. It seemed to be his only blemish, on an otherwise attractive face. The scar went from his left cheek down to his lips and with every facial expression, it twisted and reformed itself. I couldn't help but stare, as the man exhaled slowly.

"Mia." He turned to her, taking a hold of her and gently pushing her away. "Why are you here?" He asked, his eyes switching between her, Kirie, Axel, and I.

Skies kept her smile, but her confusion was evident. "What... what do you mean, Akemi? I came to find you... so we could stay together." Her smile brightened. "You're my brother after all."

"And?"

The word cut through the light-hearted air, and a dense silence seeped in. My eyebrow rose. I opened my mouth to speak, however, Axel beat me to it.

"What do you mean and?" She gestured to Skies. "She's your sister. She came to find you."

"Yeah, dude." I chimed in, taking a step forward. "What's with you? Your sister came all this way looking for you. Aren't you happy?"

"I wouldn't say happy. More so, confused." He said, looking up to me. "Why did you bring her here?"

"So she could- what do you mean why?"

"A-Akemi?" Skies's tone wavered as her eyes shook. "What's going on?"

The man lowered his gaze to meet his little sister's. "Mia, I can't take care of you. This is our new reality. I can't have anything, or anyone, slowing me down."

As he spoke, Akemi's eyes were steadfast, and his expression didn't betray the words that came out his mouth. He was serious, and I couldn't believe it. Something in me was set ablaze, something snapped.

Suddenly, Akemi was hoisted into the air, the collar of his shirt balled tightly within my fist. I growled. "What the hell did you just say...? This is your sister! Your flesh and blood!"

"Ren!"

"Ren, please!" Skies pleaded, tugging at my shirt. "Don't hurt my brother!"

Akemi stared at me impassively, his brown eyes lazily looking over my features. He smiled, his scar wrinkling just a bit.

"You're quite pretty aren't you?"

My arm flexed, and my fist made for his face, only to be barred by Axel's grip. She swiftly pulled me away and held me back.

"Ren, what are you doing?" She asked as I wriggled in her grip. I was too busy being angry to hear her though.

"How can you say that?! That's your sister! Your sister!"

"Ren, calm down!"

Skies was crying, and Akemi didn't seem to care. He dusted himself off and flicked out his shirt. Soon his hands were in his pockets. "You're making a fool out of yourself."

"Ragh! Let me go!"

"Ren, stop!" Skies screeched, and the whole bar fell quiet. We all stopped our banter, looking to the young girl. She furiously tried to wipe her overflowing tears, hiccuping.

"B-brother... why don't you want me?" She asked through broken weeps. Akemi looked at his sister, and shook his head. He took a step forward and brought his hand to her head, ruffling her brown locks.

"It's not that I don't want you, Mia... It's that I can't have you." He said. Sobs wracked Skies's body and Kirie swiftly walked over wrapping her up in a protective hug. She gave Akemi an even glare, and the teenager tilted his head to her.

"What, you're going to try and hit me too?"

Axel had let go of me, and I dropped my arms. I didn't know what to do. I'd never heard of anything like this... what was going on? What was happening right now? How could those words come out of his mouth?

How...?

Akemi gave a deep sigh and returned his hand to his pocket. "Love ya sis." He said, the words dripping from his lips as though it was an afterthought. The man brushed past us and, without even looking, exited the pub.

There we stood, with the whole restaurant's eyes on us, and a heavy silence in the wake of our state of affairs. We all stood, collectively dumbfounded. What Akemi had done, what he'd said, his actions... They weren't human...

They couldn't be.

And yet... Couldn't they?

Yes, there we stood, Kirie hugging Skies tightly as the girl clung to the blonde with all her might, howling at the world as tears fell down her face. Dejectedly we stood, despondently, sorrowfully...

My body felt like it weighed a ton... and my mind fell blank. I didn't know what to do... what to say... how to act. All I could think of was one word... One word that summed up this roller coaster of despair.

'...Unbelievable...'

(Disclaimer: Sword Art Online (Novel) is owned by Reki Kawahara, abec, ASCII Media Works and Yen Press. I own only my characters and concepts.)

Again, sorry for the lateness!

[Comment Corner]

RainEStar3 (C. 7) - Thank you! Yeah, hopefully, the views pick up. Have a great story to tell. I'm sorry if the chapter was confusing. Whatever you had trouble understanding I'll try to clarify if you could tell me. If not, I'll work hard to make sure my next chapters are more concrete and vivid.

RainEStar3 (C. 9) - Again, thank you very much, haha! That'll be the whole point of this series, merging what could've/should've plausibly happened in the LNs and Anime to what has already come to pass. Despite the cliche, I'm glad you're liking it so far. Looking forward to more reviews from you.

Hope you guys like this chapter! Next one coming in two weeks! Look out for it :P