Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Author's Note: I admit the lack of reviews made me lose a little enthusiasm and confidence in this story but the views are still up so people are reading. Maybe I should kill off someone to keep the reader's interest peaked…the idea has promise.

Chapter Ten: When the Past Comes Back to Haunt You

Kazuto remained with Asuna at the hospital until she was officially healed and discharged. Ryoutarou was still recovering but with the nanomachines and Sinon's help he would be released the following day. Kazuto counted himself very fortunate to not having to lose anyone thus far. He knew he would not always be so lucky. Back at their home, Kazuto made Asuna lunch even though she insisted she was well enough to cook.

"You know it's surprise that when you were in SAO you didn't bother to learn to cook but here, in the real world, you're actually pretty good." Asuna teased when he made everyone sandwiches.

Kazuto looked away in mock hurt. "It wasn't like cooking skills were a thing I needed to survive. I had maxed out sword, detection, and hiding skills, and let's not forget the highest reaction time in all of Aincrad that ended up awarding me with Dual Wielding."

"Yeah but ask him to make a sandwich and he'd end up with mush," Rika laughed.

Andrew grinned. "You were lucky you had Asuna that day with the Ragout Rabbit because I was thinking about finding someone to cook it for me if you ended up selling it."

Asuna laughed, "You know we never did get an S-class ingredient after that."

"Unless you count that fishing fiasco on Floor 22," Kazuto served them water and sat down to eat. He lifted the glass up to drink when a familiar scent wafted into his nose. This smell… Gasping he put the water down and saw Asuna begin to drink. "Don't drink that!" He swatted her cup aside and it flew across the room, shattering against the wall.

"Kazuto, what's gotten into you!?" Asuna looked at him with surprised disbelief.

Kazuto looked over at his friends who had already drank from their cups. "Oh no…" No sooner had he said that when both Andrew and Rika began to cough. They clutched at their stomachs and fell over, spasming uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with them!?" Asuna rushed over to heal them. Her spell did nothing and she shook her head. "Why isn't it working!?"

Kazuto grit his teeth and grabbed Andrew from the floor, tossing him over his shoulder. "They've been poisoned by the local water supply. It isn't a simple status effect. Come on, your heightened strength should make it possible for you to carry Rika. We have to get them to the hospital."

"Okay," Asuna bent over and sure enough Rika felt no heavier than a sack of potatoes.

Kazuto opened his phone and made a call. "Chief Haruto—"

"Kazuto! People are pouring in from the stadium and city hall! Everyone's sudden fallen ill. The refugees are beginning to panic."

"It's the water, sir. The water's been poisoned. Does the city water supply come from the two local rivers?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Okay, send your men out to check the water. Tell them to be very careful and not to touch the water themselves. I have two friends that I'm bringing into the hospital. I'll meet you there with your findings." Kazuto snapped the phone closed and made for the door.

"Papa," Yui said when he started to leave. "I should go with you."

"It's not safe Yui and you don't have any combat abilities," Asuna said.

But Yui shook her head. "Then I'll have Papa change my programming to reflect my navigation pixie form from ALO but you're going to need me along. According to the groups' status, whatever is affecting Andrew and Rika is also affecting Sinon. With Ryoutarou still recovering from his injuries, it's down to the two of you. I'm showing increased activity at Uhoin Temple which tells me…"

"That's the next dungeon and that's where they're polluting the river from." Kazuto put the pieces together. "Okay, Yui come with me for now. I'm not certain I can make a navigation pixie but I should be able to come up with something. For now, let's hurry to the hospital."

When the two got to the hospital the emergency room was filled with the sick. Kazuto hated to do it but the best thing he could do to help his friends was defeat the next dungeon. He found the hospital staff lounge room and started working on a way for Yui to aid them with the Uhoin Temple. "Reprogramming you for a different size, let alone trying to come up with a flight engine isn't possible with the time we have. What I'm going to do is take one of my spare cor cubes and create a pair of glasses that will enable you to sense everything that Asuna can. It'll be something like what you were using at school with the camera on her shoulder. You stay here at the hospital where your cor cube can't be damaged but by wearing the glasses you'll be able to dive, so to speak, into Asuna's sensory functions."

Asuna blinked. "Will she be able to affect my real body in any way?"

"No, don't worry about that. The information broadcast is only going to go one way." Kazuto created the glasses on one of the hospital's computers while using remote access to the programs on his computer at home. He handed the new accessory over to Yui. "Keep using the computer here to access my programs. Find out what you can about Uhoin Temple while Mama and I go there in person."

Yui agreed and gave them both a hug before they left to rush to their next dungeon.

"Kazuto," Asuna said as they ran down the streets. "Are the two of us going to be enough to beat this dungeon?"

"In all honesty, I'd rather just have it be me that goes in. You were only just released from the hospital. But I knew you'd never stay behind so it's safer if I have you by my side where I can protect you," Kazuto replied. "As far as beating the dungeon goes, I have to believe Shinji has intentions of less than a party of six going because with something like poison there's no way to control who drinks it and who doesn't. The part that makes me worried is Keiko. She's supposed to be at the end of the next dungeon, if what Sakura said is to be taken as truth. A prize like that can only guarantee a difficult boss."

"So easy dungeon, hard boss. Got it." Asuna followed Kazuto across the bridge that led to the temple and the two skidded to a halt when they saw monsters and guards roaming the streets just outside the temple. They quickly took shelter and peeked around the corner. Back in the day Kazuto would be self conscious about Asuna's chest pressed tight against his back. Now it was a merely a distant thought in the back of his mind. "Guess we found it."

Kazuto watched as lizardmen as well as larger armored alligators went back and forth from the temple to the river mere feet from the temple entrance. A thick tube looking thing pulsed as it transferred something from inside the temple into the river. "That must be what's causing everyone to get sick."

"How much you wanna guess that tentacle tube thingy is connected to our boss?" Asuna pulled back and sighed, unrolling a large piece of paper she'd been carrying across her back.

Kazuto looked at her funny. "What is that?"

"The blueprints for the temple," Asuna said. "While you were busy with Yui in the lounge, I did some investigating on my own."

While she looked at what was essentially the dungeon's map, Kazuto was reminded that here was a woman who used to rank number one in her school and who led the SAO assault team on the front lines for the better part of two years. Will I ever stop being impressed by the person I'm so lucky to call my wife?

"Okay we've got two rooms that could be the boss room."

Asuna's voice pulled Kazuto out of his reverie. He blinked and knelt down to review the specs. He regarded the rooms and pointed to one. "This is the sub boss room where we should find the cause of the poison. Over here is where we'll find Keiko."

"How do you know?"

"Because this mark here indicates a sub level, a basement. She's being held here and the floor above her is large enough for the final boss." Kazuto stood up. "Do you still have your poison ward?"

Asuna winked and held up her necklace. "You bet."

"Good. Okay so we'll do it the same way as we used to. When we enter a room, I'll take right, you take left. If the monster is big enough that we both need to fight it then I'll do the blocking and parrying and you switch in to land the hits."

His wife got an evil glint in her eye. "How about we make things more interesting?"

A part of him wanted to refuse considering the seriousness of the situation. Yet when he looked at her he immediately felt his competitive streak rekindled. "I'm listening."

"Do you remember when we used to party we would keep track of how many monsters we beat? Wanna see who wins?"

Kazuto smirked, the gamer blood in him pumping. "Okay, I'll play. What does the winner get?" Asuna came up to him and whispered in his ear. His face lit up bright red and he nodded rapidly. "D-d-d-deal! Deal!"

Asuna giggled and rolled up the blueprints, turning her attention back on the enemy. "All right. Let's go." She moved from cover to cover until she was close enough to get behind one of the monsters. She unsheathed her sword and attacked in the same motion. She got lucky. The lizardman's cor cube was located in his belt. He cried out a moment before he shattered.

Kazuto saw that and came down from a lamppost, ambushing two at once. He slashed with both his swords and two enemies disappeared at once. "That's two to one."

"Only because I showed you their weakness," Asuna stuck out her tongue and deftly leapt out of the way when another enemy turned on them. This one resembled an alligator if he stood up on hind legs with thick armor while carrying a shield and a sword. Asuna attacked but the alligator was strong and batted aside her attacks with its buckler. Her sword arm thrown back the Gator Guard countered with its sword.

Kazuto appeared and blocked with both of his swords. "These guys hit like a speeding truck!" he commented through gritted teeth.

"Can you break through?"

"Ha, don't insult me." He planted his right foot and lowered his shoulders, launching the enemy's sword back and causing it to stumble. "Switch!"

Asuna dove in and aimed for the chest next, hoping to find the cor cube but once again the gator blocked with its buckler. This time, however, her thrust struck dead center, shattering a black obsidian that was designed into the smaller shield. The shield broke and disappeared while the fighter remained. "Wait, what?"

Kazuto wrapped an arm around her and leapt into the air, avoiding the horizontal slash of the monster. "Multiple cor cubes. Shiva, the ice dungeon boss, had them, too."

"Mama!" Yui's voice sounded from the blutooth in the couple's ears. "The cor cube for the gator guard's main form is in his helmet!"

"Okay!" Asuna shouted, almost forgetting that their daughter was on an open call to help them from afar. As one husband and wife came down with their weapons, all three piercing the monster's head. He shattered and the outside of the temple was left quiet. Asuna looked at the pulsing tentacle at least three feet in diameter and pretended to gag. "This is what's polluting the water?"

"There's no way to use cor cubes to such an end so Shinji has to be polluting the water and merely hiding the method for stopping it within the dungeon." Kazuto looked towards the entrance. "Yui, we're going to enter the dungeon and start putting an end to this. Test the water at the hospital and see if it has any high levels of contaminants. My theory is the reason the hospital was less affected is because they have more filters than city hall and the stadium. If that's true then the contaminant is something that isn't usually filtered and in high concentrations is poisonous."

"Okay, Papa."

Kazuto nodded to Asuna and the two entered the dungeon. The temple was comprised of wooden floors and rice paper panel walls. "We're going to need to be careful fighting indoors."

"There are plenty of open areas between the buildings," Asuna replied. "We should be able to draw them outside easily enough." When they walked into the first room they were greeted by smaller enemies than what had been outside. Asuna blinked, "Kobalds?"

Kazuto smirked and rushed forward, taking out two by surprise when he shattered their masks which held their cor cubes. "That's two more for me."

Asuna's mouth fell open. "That's not fair!" She rushed in and as they combated they almost forgot they were fighting for their lives as they started having fun. "This brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Absolutely!" Kazuto made for the door and ran outside, using a nearby lizardman's back to jump high into the air so he could come down spinning, slashing expertly at the belt, destroying the creature. "You're falling behind!"

"So you think," Asuna grinned and stabbed one lizardman's belt then slashed up to sever a Gator Guard's helmet. Then she produced two throwing knives and shot them passed Kazuto into two kobalds that were rushing towards the fight.

Kazuto gaped at her. "When did you learn that?"

Asuna winked and held a finger to her lips. "Maybe if you win our little competition I'll tell you."

Kazuto shivered with pleasure. She is so sexy sometimes and she doesn't even know it. They had been so busy competing that neither of them noticed they were standing in nearly a foot of mud and muck. A putrid smell reach Kazuto and he gagged. "Isn't this supposed to be grass?"

Asuna looked around in confusion. "I suppose it's a change of environment same as the ice dungeon, wouldn't you agree?"

Kazuto refrained from answering just so he wouldn't have to breathe more than necessary. He motioned with his head to the left and they pushed through the recreated swamp into the next room.

"I feel like I should take off my shoes." Asuna looked around went on alert when the rice paper walls shimmered and scroll like monsters melted away, coming at Asuna like waves on the wind. "Shikigami!" she exclaimed, trying to slash at them when they came at her. One dodged and wrapped around her arms, pinning them to her body.

"Asuna!" Kazuto came down with his sword and expertly cut through the creature while Asuna was left unharmed. The cor cube was located in the wooden dowel of the scroll so when Kazuto cut the paper, he performed another cut and severed the wood, shattering the creature.

"Thanks," Asuna poised herself for a moment and cut through the remainder of the Shikigami. "I think it's safe to say the Shikigami have a binding effect."

Kazuto laughed. "I'd have to agree with you on that one." He and Asuna cleared that room and two others before they came to the first large room. "Be on your guard…" he walked slowly and saw that the door was open on the far side of the room. From the outside swamp area, a monster arose, his stench the first to alert them to his presence. It looked like a pile of vines and mulch but smelled like garbage.

Asuna gagged and backed up a step. "What is that thing?"

"A swamp monster I'm assuming." When Asuna gave him a suffering look Kazuto added, "Meaning physical attacks won't be very affecting and poison or paralysis status effects might be possible." Coming from the swamp monster was the thick tentacle that led back outside and was infesting the water with who knew what. We defeat him and the water should clear up. That'll leave just one other objective…Keiko.

Asuna smirked and sheathed her sword. "So magic it is." She closed her eyes and called forth the element ice. She fired ice shards that pierced the monster then added the effect Frozen. The swamp monster became completely encased in ice and for a moment couldn't move.

Kazuto activated his Fire of Hades and swung his sword in a controlled arc, directing the flame towards the enemy. When the creature melted he screamed in pain and began thrashing about, growing more tentacles to put out the fire. They were smaller than the main one and did little against the fire from the underworld.

Asuna began to relax her stance. "Did we get him?"

Kazuto, however, remained on guard. "I don't think so…" As he said that the larger, bulky form burned away, revealing a skinnier decrepit looking creature. It almost looked like a skeleton with pieces of flesh still attached and those pieces were now burned to a crisp. It moaned and stood up to its full height, almost touching the ceiling of the little temple.

"It changed forms!?" Asuna gaped.

"Yeah you sort of missed that part at the ice dungeon, too."

"When we get through this you're going to have to fill me in on everything I missed!" Asuna moved in to fight and find the cor cube but the monster is impossibly agile. It wasn't so much that it moved to evade her strikes but its form shifted left and right to the point where she couldn't touch it at all.

The creature's head turned towards Kazuto and its red glowing eyes seemed to bore through him. You are a deceiver.

The raspy, wet voice spoke into Kazuto's mind and he shook his head, trying to clear it. That wasn't my thought. He looked at the sub boss paying no attention to Asuna whatsoever. The creature seemed to grin at Kazuto's confusion. How…?

You deceive them…play the Hero…but you are seeped in darkness…

Kazuto gripped his head now and winced in pain, catching Asuna's attention. "Kazuto?"

"You're just trying to mess with me," Kazuto told the creature.

"What's going on?" Asuna ceased her attack and turned to her husband.

The voice in his head laughed. You used them, you used them all. Asuna…you used her to party because there was no one else. Ryoutarou you helped only to abandon to certain death. Keiko…you used her to get to Rosalia.

"No, I didn't. Those things happened but you're wrong!" Kazuto exclaimed.

"Kazuto!" Asuna wanted to help but didn't know how.

And Sachi…

Kazuto snapped and cried out, rushing the monster with more fervor than Asuna before him. The monster was elusive, though, and no amount of speed could catch the creature with Kazuto's swords. How…how does he know about Sachi?

Sachi and the Moonlit Black Cats…they all died because you used them. You use people to shelter yourself, cover your weaknesses, and pretend to be Hero.

"No, no I didn't…I mean…!" Kazuto tried to strike again and again but nothing he did had any effect.

"Papa!" Yui's voice sounded. "He's sending signals to the nanomachines inside you. It's just a trick! Don't listen to him!"

The nanomachines…? That's right. It's just a game after all…

"Use fire, Kazuto! His form changed but his weakness hasn't!" Kazuto heard Asuna shouted.

Kazuto activated his Fire of Hades again and swung his sword widely, hitting not only the monster but also the building itself. He panted with the exertion and still through his blue flame he saw those red eyes still staring at him mockingly. Be gone phantom.

You may defeat me but the past is not so easily forgotten. Those closest to you will see you for what you truly are. The mountain of bodies your glory stands upon will build and build…how much longer can you keep up the act I wonder? Hahahaha…The cor cube melted and the monster was no more.

Asuna came up to Kazuto cautiously, unsure if what was affecting him had stopped. "Kazuto?"

Kazuto, good at hiding his true feelings, put on his mask and sheathed one of his swords. "I'm fine." Beneath where the monster had been, the room was now adorned with a very large black hole that led into the basement. The large tentacle connected to the river led to barrels and barrels of some kind of substance. "What is all this?" He cut the tentacle at the point of its cor cube, severing the pollution from its destination.

"It's fluoride, Papa," Yui commented. "The results just came back from my tests. In small quantities, like in toothpaste, fluoride is harmless. In large amounts, however, such as the industrial waste from aluminum refinery plants, it can be poisonous. It's added to water in parts of the United States as a way of freshening breath but it's a very dangerous practice."

Asuna glared at the barrels. "Well we'll let Chief Haruto know about this. For now, the water should clear up." She looked to Kazuto. "Now to find Keiko."

You used her to get to Rosalia…

Kazuto shook his head and forced a smile. "Yeah, let's go get her." They went through the next rooms systematically, heading towards the one other room where Kazuto was certain they'd find Keiko.

You let Pina die and then used me as bait to draw out Rosalia. Getting the Pneuma Flower and saving Pina never mattered to you. Keiko's little voice accused Kazuto and his grip on his sword tightened.

You couldn't take a couple more players with you so you chose to abandonus. You just left us there… Ryoutarou grit his teeth and his expression in Kazuto's head was full of disappointment.

Then a new face entered his mind's eye. Covered in blood with tears streaming down her face, she reached out to Kazuto even as the monster that would be her undoing struck her from behind. Her mouth moved and at the time Kazuto couldn't hear her but now it was as if her specter whispered directly into his ear.

I'll never forgive you…

"Sachi!" Kazuto exclaimed, gripping his head.

"Kazuto!" Asuna saw him falter and rushed to his aid. She jumped between him and the gater guard and in three slashes cut the monster's mask in two. When they had cleared the room Asuna spun to face him. "What is going on with you? Are you okay?"

Kazuto was sweating and panting, his heart going a mile a minute but he ignored Asuna's concern and moved toward the door, "Sorry. I spaced it. It won't happen again." Asuna looked like she wanted to say more but if he stopped now he wouldn't be able to finish this dungeon. "The boss's room should be right through here." He pulled open the rice paper door and cautiously walked inside. This room was the largest yet and for good reason.

Upon entering the room, the boss' algorithm activated and he stood up. Kazuto froze upon the sight. The design wasn't exact but the similarities were enough that even Asuna gasped at his side.

"The Gleam Eyes? Here!?" she exclaimed.

No, it's not Gleam Eyes. We defeated that creature and he disappeared with that world when we defeated Kayaba. But… Kazuto tried to tighten his resolve and keep his head in the game but it was a losing battle.

The name of the creature was Naranbaatar: the Gater Guard General. He was twice as large as his adds, which numbered three at the moment, and his tail armor included a spiked mace. He wielded a no dachi like the days of old and he sneered at Kazuto. Roaring, his adds rushed forward first and the boss stood still looking at Kazuto expectantly.

Miss me, old friend?

Kazuto ducked beneath one attack and tried to focus. It's not the Gleam Eyes. Gleam Eyes had a snake for a tail and it was a purple ram monster. This one is green with a longer snout.

Naranbaatar laughed. Still trying to convince yourself, eh? Do you know what your partner is thinking right now? She's wondering if you have any skills or secrets your hiding like the last time…

I'm not hiding anything! Kazuto exclaimed in his mind. Yet as he said this, the images of Asuna and Ryoutarou from that battle came back to him. At first they had looks of hope in him and his abilities. They wanted to believe he could save them from a desperate situation. Then when he struck for the first time with Starburst Stream, two blades shining in his hands, their looks turned to disbelief. No, not just disbelief. They looked at me as if I'd betrayed them. Once again I was hiding something from everyone.

"Kazuto!"

Kazuto snapped out of it just as Naranbaatar came down with his weapon. Kazuto performed a cross block and the wood beneath him cracked under the pressure. "Get out of my head!" Enveloped by the past, Kazuto shouted, "Starburst Stream!" and not only batted aside Naranbattar's strikes but also landed 12 of the 16 hit combo.

One of those strikes happened to hit the cor cube located within the beast, Kazuto couldn't even tell where, and the monster shattered. His arms twitched with adrenaline and when Asuna approached him she still kept her distance.

"Kazuto?"

Afraid of what he might do, Kazuto dropped his swords and stumbled back until he hit the wall then fell to the floor. "I can't…I don't know…how does he know about these things?"

Asuna came and knelt before him. "I don't know what's going on, Kazuto, but I'm going to try something, okay?" She put her hands on his shoulders and cast Dispel. A blue fog that had been hidden previously appeared around Kazuto before it evaporated and the swordsman looked at his wife as if she had just appeared out of nowhere.

"Asuna?"

She gave him a small smile. "Do you feel better?"

"Y-yeah, kinda…what happened?"

"Papa was being affected by Confusion. The sub boss Abomination cast it by sight," Yui told them over the open call.

Kazuto, with Asuna's help, put his swords away and noticed the floor panel that led to the basement. "Come on, we still have two objectives. Asuna, you go and find the cor cube for the projector and destroy it. I'll get Keiko."

"Okay." Asuna hesitated but seeing Kazuto's eyes were clear again left to find the projector cube.

Kazuto opened the door and walked down the steps into the basement. It was dark with only a single ceiling lamp lighting the tiny room. In the center of the room was a large cage covered with vines. He walked up to it and activated his infrared. "Keiko? Is that you? It's Kazuto."

Keiko came forward and wrapped her little hands around the bars of her cage. "Kazuto!" she cried. "Kazuto, you came! Please, get me out of here!"

Kazuto used his sword to cut through the lock and opened the door. Keiko came out slowly, looking around for her captor. "It's okay. We're here now."

She leapt into his arms and cried and all Kazuto could do was hold her.

When the three exited Uhoin Temple they were unnerved by the quiet that had settled across the land. Keiko kept close to Asuna as she neared the riverbank. "Um…Kazuto. You're gonna want to come see this."

Kazuto heard his phone beep signaling an incoming call. "Hang on, I gotta take this." He picked up his phone. "Yui, Mama and I will see you at the hospital shortly."

"Okay, Papa."

He hung up with her and answered the other call from Chief Haruto. "Chief, how are things at the hospital?"

"Since we've found the source of the sickness, we've been able to correct it but we have a new problem."

"What's that?" Kazuto walked towards Asuna as she frantically waved him over, pointing towards the river. He frowned when he didn't see any waterline and upon closer inspection, he saw exactly what the chief was talking about.

"The water in the pipes has all dried up! Do you know what's going on?"

Kazuto opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldn't come out. "The river…it's gone."

"Gone? How is it gone?"

"The water…it's all gone." Kazuto could see there had been water until recently but the very bottom of the riverbed stared up at him. "I'll meet you at the hospital in thirty minutes."

"Understood."

Asuna looked to her husband. "What are we supposed to do about this?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Knowing Shinji and Sakura, I think this is going to lead us to the water dungeon that you scouted out that first day."

"Kazuto." Keiko looked up with red brimmed eyes. In her hand she had a cor cube. "Sakura gave this to me and said to hold onto it but I don't know what it is or what's going on. She said you would know."

Kazuto took the cor cube and activated it. It spun and floated off his hand until its projector turned on and its programming took over.

Keiko saw it happen and couldn't believe her eyes. Her tears fell anew and she covered her mouth in shock. "Can it be…?" The new creation let out a cry and seeing its master dove into her arms and she happily nuzzled his neck. "Pina! Pina! It's really you! Pina!"

Asuna pulled away from the pair and moved over to Kazuto's side. "She was taken on the way from school one day and doesn't remember anything until she woke up in a cell. Do you think Shinji put the nanomachines in her as well?"

Kazuto nodded. "Pina is evidence enough of that. She's meant to increase our fighting power which tells me the next dungeons are going to be harder than before."

"Kazuto, there's something I have to tell you," Keiko said, her familiar already perched on her shoulder.

"It's going to have to wait. We have to head back to the hospital and regroup with everyone. If the rivers are dried up, our supplies are going to be greatly affected. We have to make plans for the water dungeon as soon as possible." Kazuto turned and forced his chest to unclench. No matter what lies in my past, I will correct this mistake Shinji's thrown at me and I will save this city. I can't stop now. Too many people are counting on me.

A black raven sitting on a power line cocked its head at him and cawed into the sky. The mountain of bodies your glory stands upon will build and build…how much longer can you keep up the act I wonder? Hahahaha…