Chapter 11: The Girl of Morning Dew
I Don't Own Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンラインor Any of Characters, All Rights Go To Reki Kawahara and ASCII Media Works
Author's Note:
* Hello and welcome to Chapter Eleven!
* Nothing much I can say here, although there will be a few moments that didn't happen in the Anime. So, do with that what you will. Anyway, with that said, let's get right down into the chapter!
Kirito
October 24th, 2024 – Fifty Fifth Floor: Grandzam
Klein, Asuna, Sachi and I were at the HQ of The Knights of the Blood Oath, explaining what had happened yesterday and asked for our temporary leave.
"I understand the situation." Heathcliff replied. "Now, I'll just have to explain it to the rest of the Guild."
"Also," I said. "We'd like a temporary absence from the Guild. To recuperate after the Kuradeel situation."
"Really? Why?"
Asuna answered for me.
"We're starting to question the current state of the Guild. And we need time to think."
Heathcliff dipped his head and sighed.
"Very well."
We all smiled at each other.
"However, I'm positive you won't stay away from the battlefield for long."
None of us made a response.
October 25th, 2024 – Twenty Second Floor
We had arrived at the cabin, which we had bought that same day. It was a nice two floor cabin, with enough room for the four of us. There was also a sauna in the cabin and there was a small hot spring nearby.
"Wow!" Asuna exclaimed as she ran out to the balcony. "This view is amazing!"
"I know, right?" Klein asked as he and Sachi walked out onto the balcony as well.
I was standing right behind Asuna, just sort of in my own little world. Just then, Klein moved in front of me.
"Hey, Kirito, you mind moving for a second?" he asked.
I looked up from my daze.
"What? Oh, yeah, sure."
I backed up a little for Klein. Then, he did something that shocked me. He put his hand on Asuna's butt and then quickly backed up again. Asuna flinched and then turned around and looked at me. Her face reddened and I knew where this was going.
Crap.
Asuna ran forward and slapped me across the face. I fell over onto my back.
Nice one, Klein.
October 26th, 2024 – Twenty Second Floor
The next morning, I was woken up by something. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Once I got used to the amount of light in the room, I looked over at Asuna, who was sitting up in her bed, reading the Aincrad newspaper. She looked in my direction as I sat up.
"Good morning." She said.
I murmured my greeting in return. She turned back to reading the "paper". I looked over to Klein's bed across the room from mine, to see that he was still asleep. When I looked over at Sachi's bed, I saw that she was sitting up with her knees drawn to her chest.
"You guys didn't hear what I just said, did you?" she asked.
Asuna looked up.
"No. What?" she asked.
Sachi looked down at her feet.
"Mmm, okay."
I was confused. What had Sachi said? I looked over at Asuna and saw that she was looking at me. I just shrugged. She looked away from me and went back to reading the paper. I let out a sigh as I fell back into my bed, lying my head on my pillow.
Later That Day – Twenty Second Floor
Once everyone had gotten up and we had eaten breakfast, we all agreed on taking a walk around the forest of Floor Twenty Two.
"So, how much time do we have off again?" Sachi asked.
"A couple weeks." Asuna said. "Although the Commander is allowed to call us back at any time he wishes."
"What?" Klein asked. "Why?"
All three of us looked at him.
"Because, we're not slackers." Asuna replied.
"Oh, come on! I'm not a slacker! I just enjoy prolonged relaxation!"
"Your definition of "long term relaxation" would be the same as slacking off." I joked.
He let out a huff as he went silent. As we continued walking, I got the urge to do something risky. So, I began to trail behind Asuna. I got into a running start and dove underneath her legs, as I picked her up onto my shoulders.
"Kirito, what the hell?!" she exclaimed as she struggled to avoid falling off my shoulders.
"Just go with it, Asuna! What's the matter, have you never had a piggyback ride before?"
I took off running down the wooden path, holding her legs to prevent her from falling. Eventually her screams of anger turned to joyful laughter, so I relished in the fact that she wasn't angry anymore. I hadn't even realized how far we had gone before Klein called out.
"Hey, wait for us!"
As I ran with Asuna on my shoulders, she spoke.
"Wow, you can already see the lake from here!"
"No, you can see the lake. I can't." I muttered in response.
"Well, fine. If you want, you can ride on my shoulders once we turn around and head back to the cabin."
"I appreciate the gesture, but I doubt you have the strength stat to do it."
Asuna was silent for a few moments. She slapped my head.
"Okay, I guess I kinda deserved that."
"Yeah, you kinda did."
Once we were maybe five minutes down the wooden path, Asuna had me stop underneath a tree. I had no idea why, but for some reason, she wanted to leaf through the branches. Just then, a bug of some sort scared her, causing her to wobble a little bit.
"Wow, it almost went up my nose!"
She then went silent for a few moments. I turned my head to my left and saw a group of fishermen in the distance.
"Great, now we have people looking at us." I muttered.
"Our own audience." Asuna whispered to me. "Kirito, they're waving at us. Wave back!"
"Sorry, not gonna happen. I'm not going to embarrass myself."
"You already embarrassed yourself when you forcefully gave me a piggyback ride."
I was trying to come up with a witty comeback, when I heard Klein and Sachi catch up to us.
"Oh, what have we here? An audience?" Klein asked. "Well, I guess that's just something you'll have to deal with regarding young love."
My face felt like it was on fire.
Did Klein seriously just say that? Please don't tell me that Sachi told that specific "thing" to Klein?
Asuna let out a scream as she fell from my shoulders and onto the wooden path.
"I guess that's what you get for not hanging on tight." I muttered,
"Idiot!" she exclaimed as she kicked the back of my leg.
Once she got up, she asked me to hunch down.
"Um, why?" I asked.
"Just do it."
I sighed and hunched down, then was surprised when Asuna got back on my shoulders.
"Um, okay." I said with surprise as I stood back up.
"Forward!" Asuna exclaimed as she pointed. "North, northeast!"
I rolled my eyes, but began running forward, nonetheless. Asuna gasped with surprise as she held on.
"Not so fast! We're not in a hurry!"
I didn't listen, but I kept running, as Asuna's laughter filled my ears. I could only assume that Klein and Sachi were running behind us, struggling to keep up. After a while of running, we all eventually found ourselves in a forest.
"So, I heard this weird rumor in the village yesterday." I spoke, breaking the silence. "That if you go deep enough into the forest, you'll see… them."
Asuna let out a grunt.
"See what?"
A small smile appeared on my face. I stopped in my tracks.
"Ghosts." I whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
Asuna chuckled.
"Y-You mean like, those in-game astral-type monsters, right?"
"No, not those. Real ghosts."
"There's no such thing as ghosts!" Klein called from behind us.
I turned around to face him, with Asuna still on my shoulders.
"Shut up, you little insect!" I exclaimed.
He grinned back at me with a sheepish look on his face.
"Little insect?" Asuna asked. "Is that really the best you could come up with?"
"Oh, shut up." I muttered.
"Whatever, just go back to your story."
I sighed before I continued.
"They say the tortured souls of the monsters hunted here, come back to wander the forest at night."
Sachi let out a gasp of fright, before hiding behind Klein. I let out a chuckle as I saw that. Klein looked at her over his shoulder.
"Hey, come on, it's broad daylight!" he said. "And besides, there's no such thing as ghosts!"
Sachi poked her head out from behind him.
"Yeah, but does the ghost know that?" she asked.
I started laughing a bit after she said that.
"You're an awful liar, Kirito." Asuna finally said.
"Eh, had to try." I said.
Just then, Asuna heard a noise.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Ha, ha. Nice try." I muttered.
"No, seriously! What was that?!"
"What was what?"
"That sound!"
"What sound?!"
Asuna didn't speak again this time. I rolled my eyes and kept walking.
"We're almost there, anyway." I said.
"The place the rumor mentions?" she asked, even though she didn't believe me.
"About a week ago, a carpenter hiked into the forest to get some wood for a project. He stayed so long, that before he knew it, it was night. As he walked along, he caught a glimpse of something white, standing by a tree."
She gasped with fright, which surprised me.
"Was it a monster, or something else?" I continued. "The white figure slowly approached a tree.
"Hey, look!" she said as she grabbed the top of my head.
"Huh?" I asked as I looked in the direction of her pointer finger.
I didn't see anything. As soon as I looked away, she began freaking out again.
"I wanna get down!" she exclaimed. "I wanna get down!"
She struggled to get off of my shoulders and ended up toppling over backwards onto the ground, taking me with her. Once I hit the ground, I let out a grunt of pain.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked.
Once I got up, she hid behind me.
"I-It's over there!" she said with fright.
"What are you talking about?"
Asuna pointed over my shoulder, so I looked in the direction that she was pointing. This time, however, I saw a little girl in a white dress with black hair, standing by a tree.
"You gotta be kidding." I muttered to myself.
Asuna's grip on my shoulders tightened as I began to feel frightened myself. I didn't know how Klein and Sachi were reacting, I couldn't see their expressions, nor did I hear them say anything. Suddenly, the girl looked in our direction. Asuna ducked down behind me as I finally heard Sachi squeal with fright. And then, the strangest thing happened. The girl fell over. My eyes filled with confusion as I looked on.
"Hold on." I said with confusion as I ran over to her.
"Kirito!" Sachi cried. "Be careful!"
I reached the little girl and knelt down. I felt her face, feeling actual skin.
"It's not a ghost." I whispered to myself.
"What?" Klein called out.
"She's not a ghost!" I called back, turning to face them. "She's a real girl!"
I gently put my hands on the girl and slowly lifted her up from the ground as my friends reached me.
"She's another player?" Asuna asked.
"I don't…" I tried to say something, but my voice trailed off as I stared down at the girl with concern.
"What's she doing all the way out here?" Sachi asked, seemingly getting over her fright.
"I don't know." I said with confusion.
"No cursor." Klein whispered, barely enough for me to hear.
I turned to look at him.
"What?" I asked.
"She hasn't got a cursor." He said in a clearer tone of voice.
I looked back at the girl and saw that he was right. She really didn't have a cursor.
"Maybe it's some kind of bug?" Asuna suggested.
"Yeah, probably." Klein agreed.
"What's a little girl like her doing in SAO?" Sachi asked.
I tried to think about what the girl was doing here, but I couldn't come up with a theory that made sense.
"I guess we'll find out when she wakes up." I said at last.
"Huh?" Klein asked.
I looked back at him.
"We can't just leave her out here all by herself!" I said.
Klein looked back at me, before he nodded with a grunt.
"He's right." Asuna said.
"Of course, he is."
"Well, it's settled then. Let's take her back to the cabin with us."
I stood up, scooping the girl up into my arms as I did. I turned to look at the three of them.
"Come on, let's get her laid down into a comfy bed. Lying down on the ground isn't going to do her any good."
They nodded with agreement. And so, we all started back towards the cabin.
"Look, we only have four beds and I don't want to leave her on the couch." I said as I walked. "So, if she hasn't woken up by tonight, she can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch."
"There's no need for that, Kirito." Asuna said. "My bed's big enough to share with her."
"That's fine."
"It's no problem."
"Alright, you win."
Asuna went silent for a second.
"And once she wakes up, we'll find out what we can." She spoke again. "And hopefully return her to her parents.
I nodded.
"Sounds like a plan." I agreed.
Later That Evening
We were all back at the cabin and the little girl still hadn't woken up. We all sat on our beds, however, seeing as the girl was taking up Asuna's bed, she sat next to me on my bed. Sachi sat on her bed in silence, as Klein sat on his, reading the paper.
"Well, one thing's for sure." I said, breaking the silence. "She's not an NPC. The system wouldn't have let us carry her in here if she had been."
Asuna nodded next to me.
"Yeah, you're right."
"If she were an NPC, she would have given off a harassment warning." Sachi chimed in.
"And she's not a quest giver, either." I added.
Klein had stayed relatively silent in the conversation, so I looked over in his direction.
"Klein, do you have something to add?" I asked.
He looked up from his paper.
"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked. "I wasn't listening."
I smirked as I turned away from him.
Just as I thought.
"You're right though." Asuna spoke. "If she was a quest giver, our quest logs would have been updated the second you began interacting with her."
I nodded in agreement.
"She has to be a player." I decided. "And she's probably been out there a while, wondering around lost. That's the most likely scenario."
"Yeah, sure. But why was she all the way out there? What was she doing?" Sachi asked.
I shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine." I replied. "But she has to have a parent or guardian out there, somewhere. Doesn't she? I mean, she can't be all by herself in here."
"She had to have logged in with someone from her family." She agreed.
"I hope they're safe." Asuna chimed in.
"Me, too." I whispered.
After several minutes of silence, Asuna turned to me.
"Hey, do you think she'll wake up?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. If her body hasn't disappeared, that means signals are still being transmitted to and from her NerveGear. She's just in some kind of sleep mode. I'm sure she'll wake up soon. And the sooner, the better."
"Yeah." Asuna mumbled in agreement a few seconds later.
About half an hour passed without any change and I finally let out a yawn. I looked over at Asuna.
"Hey, is it alright if I ask you to go sit somewhere else?" I asked. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night."
She looked back at me and eventually nodded.
"Okay." She said as she stood up from my bed.
She went over to sit with Sachi, and I pulled the covers back, lying down.
"You guys can talk." I said as I pulled the covers up. "You know, just try to keep it down."
"We will." Sachi said.
I laid my head back and put my arm underneath my pillow. Before I knew it, sleep came to me.
The Next Morning
Early the next morning, I was woken up by Asuna calling out to us to wake up. I yawned as I sat up in my bed.
"Good morning to you, too." I said as I stretched. "What is it?"
"Hurry! Get over here, you guys!"
I sighed as I got out of bed and moved over to her bed. It surprised me when I saw the little girl with her eyes open, looking up at us. She had stunning, bright black eyes.
"She finally woke up?" Klein asked.
Asuna flashed him a deadly look for some reason. She looked back at the little girl and helped her sit up.
"Thank goodness you're awake!" she said. "Do you remember what happened to you?"
The little girl looked down at the covers and eventually shook her head no, grunting as she did so.
"Okay…" Sachi spoke with concern.
"Well…" I tried to speak, only to get interrupted by Asuna.
"What about your name? Can you tell us your name?"
It took a second or two for the girl to speak.
"M-My name is… I think my name is… I think…" she spoke, noticeably struggling. "Uh, you? You-ee?"
She looked up at us.
"That's it. Yui."
"That's a cute name!" Asuna spoke as she closed her eyes. "Nice to meet you. My name's Asuna."
She turned to look at the three of us.
"And this is Kirito, Klein and Sachi."
"Sup?" Klein spoke first.
Asuna shot him a glance of disapproval.
"Hi." I said, trying to speak in a reassuring tone.
"Hi, nice to meet you!" Sachi replied in a friendly tone.
"A-Auna? Kito?" she asked, mispronouncing our names. "Kine? Sashi?"
We all chuckled except for Asuna.
"It's actually, Sachi. Don't make a "shh" sound." She replied. "Make a "chuh" sound."
Asuna spoke once more.
"Yui, try to remember. What were you doing out in the forest? And do you remember where your mom and dad are now?"
Yui looked back down at the covers.
"Um, I-I don't know."
I had to admit, the way she spoke tugged at my heartstrings.
"I can't remember anything."
"Oh, no." Asuna whispered.
"That's awful!" Sachi added.
"Well, you're awake." Klein replied. "I mean, that's one thing."
I nodded as I sat down on the bed with Asuna and Yui.
He had a point.
"Can I call you Yui?" I asked.
She looked over at me.
"Mmm-hmm." She mumbled.
"Okay." I said. "Then you can call me Kirito. Can you say "Kirito"?"
"Kito?" she mispronounced my name again.
"It's Kirito." I explained. "Ki-ri-to. Now, you try."
She looked up at me.
"Kito." She repeated herself.
I chuckled and lightly tousled Yui's hair.
"That's okay. Maybe it's a little hard. How about you call me whatever's easiest for you?"
Yui looked away from me, as if she was thinking. After a while, she looked back at me and spoke. And what she said surprised me.
"Daddy."
My eyes went wide with shock.
"Me?" I asked as I pointed at myself.
Yui looked at Asuna without a word.
"Auna is Mommy." She said.
Before Asuna or I could respond, Klein began to laugh.
"She thinks that Kirito is her Dad and that Asuna is her Mom?" he asked, still laughing. "Oh, that's rich!"
Asuna and I both looked at Klein with anger and embarrassment. He continued laughing, as I put my hand for him to see.
"What?" he asked as he stopped laughing. "What does that mean?"
I put one of my fingers down, leaving only four left up. He still didn't react, so I put another finger, leaving only three left.
"Three." I said.
Suddenly, he seemed to get it as he went a little pale and his cheeks began to turn light red. He lightly chuckled.
"You know what? If the happily married couple doesn't mind, I'm gonna step out."
He got up to leave, but as he said that, Asuna lost it. She got up and ran after him.
"Get back here, you dummy!" she exclaimed as Klein ran out of the room.
I got up to go after Asuna before she did something hasty. I managed to catch her just before she could get out of the door, by taking her hand in mine. She turned to look at me, her cheeks bright red. I was blushing too, but I was trying my best not to let my nervousness and awkwardness get to me.
"It's alright." I said. "Just ignore him."
She let out a breath and nodded, as the color on her cheeks died down a little.
"You're right." She said. "Sorry."
We moved back to Yui. Yui was looking at us with a look that tugged at my heartstrings just as much as the sad tone she spoke in. Eventually, Asuna did her best to smile and I followed her example.
"Okay, I'm Mommy." She said. "That works."
A happy look finally came onto Yui's face as she closed her eyes.
"Mommy!" she said as she jumped up and hugged Asuna. "Mommy!"
I couldn't help but smile up at Asuna as she stood up, bringing Yui with her.
"You must be hungry!" Asuna said. "Let's eat!"
"Okay!"
Later
As we sat at the table beginning to eat breakfast, I read the Aincrad Newspaper, trying to find any posts about missing children. I picked up my sandwich with one hand and took a bite out of it as I continued reading.
"Kirito." Asuna spoke.
I ignored her as I continued reading the paper.
"Kirito." She repeated herself.
I ignored her once more, as I swallowed my bite of sandwich.
"Kirito!" Asuna barked one last time.
"Huh?" I asked as I looked over to her.
She smiled back at me.
"Hey, um, what did we say about reading at the dinner table?"
I just looked at her with confusion.
"Um, what about it?"
She leaned across the table.
"You shouldn't be reading at the table," she whispered to me. "You're setting a bad example for our child."
"Our child"? She's really milking this, isn't she? Well, she's just trying to play the role correctly, I guess. I can't blame her.
"Yeah, "Daddy"!" Klein exclaimed. "So, put the paper away!"
I looked over at him, as I began to growl a bit.
"Sorry." He said as he quickly looked at Sachi. "Hey, Sachi. Do you think Kiri-Dude and Asuna will make good parents?"
Sachi began to giggle and I couldn't take it anymore. I picked up my fork and brought it down on Klein's hand.
"Ow, ow, ow!" he exclaimed. "Okay, I'll shut up about it! God, why do we have silverware anyway?"
"Proper kitchen etiquette!" Sachi exclaimed in a sing-songy tone.
I let out a sigh.
How did this happen?
"What's the matter, Yui?" Asuna asked.
I looked over at the two, to see Yui staring at my sandwich.
"I want the same one that Daddy has!" she replied.
"Awww!" Klein and Sachi cooed in unison.
I tried my best to ignore them.
"I dunno Yui, this is really spicy." I said in a serious tone.
She continued to look at me with a determined look, eventually pointing at her mouth and opening it as she did.
"Okay." I said. "If you really think that you can handle it, I won't stop you. You only live once, right?"
I reached down for one of my sandwiches and handed one to her.
"Kirito, let's not be hasty!" Asuna exclaimed.
I looked over at her.
"Hey, there's only one way to know if she likes it or not." I said. "Go ahead, Yui."
Asuna looked on with a nervous look on her face as Yui bit into the sandwich. She chewed for several seconds, before swallowing it, barely breaking a sweat.
"I like it!" she replied.
"Wow, you got an iron stomach, Yui!" Klein exclaimed.
"Yeah!" I agreed as I tousled her hair. "We can do a full course of spicy food tonight, if you want!"
"Mmm-Hmm!" she grunted with enthusiasm.
Asuna didn't take kindly to that.
"Let's not get carried away!" she exclaimed. "I won't be cooking anything nuclear!"
I turned back to Yui.
"You heard the lady." I said.
"You heard the lady?" Yui repeated what I had said.
Everyone at the table except for Asuna herself began to laugh.
Later
Once breakfast was finished, I went back to reading the paper and Asuna moved Yui to the couch, as she had fallen asleep again. Asuna eventually came back and sat down at the table.
"So, what do you guys think?" she asked.
Klein spoke first.
"She's cute."
Asuna looked over at him.
"Not about the girl, idiot!" she said. "About the situation!"
Klein shrunk back in his seat without another word. I looked at Asuna as I thought to myself.
Geez, Asuna can be really intimidating sometimes.
Asuna caught my gaze and looked over at me.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing." I said as I looked away.
"Seriously, guys. What do you think of our situation?"
I shrugged.
"It seems like she doesn't have any memories." Sachi replied.
I nodded in agreement.
"No memories whatsoever." I said. "It's really weird."
Asuna had a sad look on her face.
"I know." She said. "It's like she's a baby again."
Asuna began to rub her eyes, as if she were going to cry. I looked down at the table, unsure of what to do or what to say.
"I'm sorry." She said at last. "I just don't know what to do."
"That puts us in the same boat." Klein said.
I turned to look at him.
"Dude, you never know what to do." I said.
He looked back at me with a sheepish look. I eventually looked back at Asuna. I reached out to her and took her hand in mine. She looked up at me with a surprised look in her eyes.
"Don't worry." I said in a reassuring tone. "Everything will be fine. We'll figure something out."
She smiled back at me with thanks.
"We should take care of her!" Sachi exclaimed.
We both looked over at her, as did Klein.
"I mean, at least until she gets her memory back!" she said in a shy tone.
"Yeah, sure but that's causes a dilemma." I said.
Sachi looked back at me with a confused gaze.
"We have to get back to the frontlines at some point to continue helping clear the game!" I said.
Sachi looked down.
"Besides, the longer we're out here, the longer she has to wait to be free again!"
Klein and Sachi nodded. The image of Commander Heathcliff flashed into my mind.
"For now, we'll just have to do what we can." Asuna said.
I nodded.
"Judging from the gear that she had in her storage, she couldn't have been out in the field for very long." I replied. "We should check the Town of Beginnings! Maybe there we can find out if she has family!"
"Okay, you're right." Asuna replied.
I stood up from the table.
"So, it's settled then." I said. "When Yui wakes up, we all go to the Town of Beginnings!"
"Kirito?" Klein asked.
I turned my head to him.
"From what I heard, the Town of Beginnings is where the Army is based out of now." He said. "We should be well equipped and ready for anything when we go."
"He's right." Asuna said.
I looked at her and she nodded at me. I eventually looked back at Klein.
"Okay." I said. "Everyone, get ready for when Yui wakes up."
October 31st, 2024 – First Floor: Town of Beginnings
As it would happen, we didn't go to the Town of Beginnings that day. We all put it to a vote and decided that we should just stay in for the day and go at another time. So, a couple days passed of having Yui with us at the cabin and we finally decided to venture down there.
We all emerged from a teleport gate, out onto the plaza. We started walking out into the empty plaza.
"It's been forever since I've been here." I muttered as I carried Yui on my shoulders.
"Me, too." Asuna agreed.
"Yeah, Kirito! There are some good memories here!" Klein exclaimed. "This is where we met, remember?"
A small smile crossed my face, as my mind flashed back to an earlier time, with me running through an alleyway, before quickly being stopped and introduced to Klein.
"Well, no duh!" Asuna said as she looked over at him. "That's where most players met for the first time!"
He just chuckled.
"Good memories." He said.
"Yeah." I agreed, as I looked up at the sky. "Good memories."
As I looked up at the sky, memories of the nightmare that started on the first day flashed through my mind. Red liquid dripping from the cracks in the ceiling, the "System Announcement" label and the appearance of Akihiko Kayaba himself.
"And other not so great memories." I whispered, as the images passed.
I looked down at the ground, as I suddenly felt not as upbeat as I had seconds ago. I felt someone take my hand.
"Huh?" I grunted as I looked over at Sachi.
She smiled at me with reassurance as she held my hand.
"Come on, Kirito. Let's go!" she said.
I nodded back at her as Asuna began to walk ahead of us.
"What do you think, Yui?" she asked. "Do any of these buildings look familiar?"
I felt Yui turn on my shoulders.
"Mmm, I don't know." She said at last.
She sighed with defeat.
"Don't get down about it." I said. "The Town of Beginnings is a really big place."
I looked back at Asuna.
"Well, how about it, Asuna? Let's say we start at the Central Market?"
She nodded and without any other words, we all started off. After several minutes of walking, we arrived in the Market. Once again, I was bombarded by flashbacks. On the very first day, the Central Market was packed with other players and NPCs running shops. Today, however, it was a ghost town, completely void of life. It was just us five.
"Hey, Kirito?" Sachi asked.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Do you know how many players are here?"
"Yeah, like right now? In the town?" Asuna chimed in.
I thought to myself for a moment.
"Hmm, good question." I replied. "The last time I checked, there were about six thousand players left alive in SAO. And thirty percent of those people, including the Army, live in the Town of Beginnings. So, maybe a bit less than two thousand?"
"Well, doesn't it seem, I don't know, a little dead around here?" Sachi asked.
"Yeah, you're right." I said as I came to a stop.
My three friends came to a stop as well. They all seemed to be thinking, just like I was. Then, our thoughts were interrupted by a cry coming not too far away from us.
"Leave those children alone!"
We all snapped out of our thoughts and looked at each other.
"Look, it's that day-care bitch!" I heard a man's voice exclaim.
We all had different looks on our faces. I was concerned, Asuna looked angry, Sachi looked nervous and Klein had kept a straight face.
"We've been waiting for you!" another man's voice exclaimed.
Asuna and I looked at each other. We both seemed to think the same thing as we nodded in unison. We then took off running in the direction of the voices.
"Hey, wait for us!" Klein exclaimed.
I turned my head to look back at them as they tried to follow us.
"Try to keep up!" I exclaimed, before looking ahead of myself once more.
"Leave them alone and let them go!" I heard the lady's voice once again.
"You make it sound like we're doing something illegal, baby cakes." I barely heard a man's voice up ahead. "We're just teaching them how things work around here, making sure they pay their way. It's all part of the Army's job, Ma'am."
"That's right." I heard another man speak. "Everyone's got to pay taxes around here!"
I heard laughter from up ahead, which only made me run faster.
"Ginn, Cain, Mina!" I heard the lady's voice once more. "Are you okay?"
"Help, Miss Sasha!" I heard a little girl's voice. "Please! Save us!"
"They just want your money!" Miss Sasha exclaimed. "So, give it to them and it'll be okay!"
"We tried, Teach!" a boy exclaimed. "But they said it's not good enough!"
"You know, you deadbeats owe us a hell of a lot in back taxes." A man's voice said.
"You need to drop all of the equipment you have, right there. Including your armor!" one of the men said.
He said something else, but I couldn't tell what it was.
"No way!" Miss Sasha exclaimed. "Let me through, or else! Stand aside!"
Asuna and I finally rounded the corner and were able to see what was happening. A few Army guys were keeping a lady, I assumed it was Miss Sasha, from getting to three children. One of the Army guys looked surprised as we kept running towards them. Asuna and I effortlessly jumped over their shoulders, even with me carrying Yui. They all turned around to look at us with shock. Asuna departed from me to tend to the three children.
"You guys are going to be okay now." She said in a reassuring tone as she bent down to look at them. "Get your stuff."
"O-Okay." One of the boys replied.
Miss Sasha, the lady with brown hair and green eyes gasped as she saw this. She was also wearing a mostly blue gown, if it mattered. She also had a small dagger strapped to her hip. The Army guys recovered from their shock.
"What the…? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." One of them spoke. "Hey, who the hell are you?!"
"This is Army business, so get the hell out of our way!" another one said.
"Hold on." One of them spoke as they stepped forward. "I got this."
He stopped once he reached me.
"I guess you all are new in town, yeah?" he asked. "Cause we're with the Liberation Army and you do not mess with us!"
The man pulled his sword out to show us he was being serious. The children behind me gasped with fright.
"Kirito, take care of Yui." Asuna spoke as she walked past me.
As she walked forwards, I saw Klein and Sachi round the turn into the alley up ahead.
"Uh-huh." I said.
She equipped her rapier and unsheathed it as she continued forward. The man in front of her chuckled without fear, fully confident. He didn't know who he was dealing with.
"What are you gonna do, little girl?" the man asked as Asuna came to a stop.
Without warning, she activated her sword skill and struck him, knocking him off of his feet. She activated her sword skill and struck him again, this time sending him somersaulting backwards. Everyone was shocked, even the Army soldiers themselves. Asuna looked down at the man she had attacked.
"Oh, don't worry. It's a Safe Zone." She reassured him. "Your HP won't deplete no matter what I do. It's just the feeling of getting knocked off your feet. Even so, a fight with me is still going to scare the hell out of you."
The man didn't budge. Asuna lifted her blade and that's when he gave up. He turned around in a hurry and hurried over to his friends.
"No, don't! Agh!" he exclaimed, as Asuna struck him again despite his protests, sending him flying.
He struggled to get up once he landed. He looked up at his friends.
"Don't you just stand there, you assholes!" he exclaimed. "Do something!"
It looked like that the rest of the Army squadron would attack, however Asuna whipped her blade and that seemed to be enough to get the Army to turn and run, screaming as they ran down the alley. They ran past Sachi and Klein, not even regarding them. Asuna sheathed her rapier once more. She let out a sigh. She turned back to look at us. The children looked unsure, which made her doubt what she had just done. But their spirits quickly lifted.
"Awesome!" one of the kids replied as he smiled. "That was so awesome!"
The other two children followed suit as they approached Asuna.
"Wow, I've never seen anything like that before!"
"You are so cool!"
Miss Sasha approached her from behind.
"Thank you for helping us out!" she exclaimed, as she bowed to Asuna.
The children continued to cheer, as Asuna chuckled and closed her eyes, putting her hand on the back of her head.
"You see that?" I asked Yui. "Mom's crazy strong, isn't she?"
Yui just grunted with confusion, so I turned my head to look at her with concern. She began to look around once more. Suddenly, Yui spoke.
"Their hearts…" she said as she reached up to the sky with one hand. "Everyone's hearts are…"
"Yui?" I asked with concern.
Asuna must have noticed that Yui was acting odd, because she spoke next.
"What's wrong, Yui?" she called out.
"Everyone's hearts…" Yui spoke once more.
"Yui, what's the matter?" I asked with even more worry in my voice. "Yui?"
Asuna hurriedly began to walk over to us.
"Yui, did you remember something?" Asuna asked once she reached us.
Yui put both of her hands on my shoulders as she rested her head against my neck.
"I… I… I was never here… in this place." She said. "I was always alone… in the dark!"
I could feel Yui's hands tremble as she rested them on my shoulders. Asuna gasped with pain. And then it happened. Yui began to freak out. The sound of static filled the air as she fell from my shoulders. In fact, my vision was almost blurry, staticky. Asuna put her hands over her ears, but I couldn't do that, as I was trying to keep Yui on my shoulders. It wasn't good enough.
"Yui!" Asuna and I exclaimed in unison as she fell from my shoulders.
Luckily, Asuna was able to run over and catch her before she hit the ground. The static noises came to a stop now.
"Mommy, I'm scared!" Yui exclaimed as she tightly hugged Asuna. "Mommy!"
I stared down at them with slight fear in my eyes.
"My God, Yui…" I said.
Yui looked up at me and then suddenly she passed out in Asuna's arms. Asuna looked down at Yui.
"What was that?" she asked.
I didn't have an answer. Believe me, I wish I did. All I could do was speculate for now.
Author's Note:
* And that's it for the chapter! I'm sorry I was inactive for so long, I've been dealing with a new semester of school and I've just had a few inconveniences that have left me busier than I would have hoped. I'll try not to be inactive for so long again!
* Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? Did you guys like how Klein and Sachi occasionally provided comic relief? My biggest question is that did the story of Yui without Kirito and Asuna being married successful? Was it just as good? Or did it fail? Please let me know, because this was one of the chapters that I was sort of hesitant about. I didn't know if I could nail it like I seem to be doing with the other chapters.
* As there are no new reviews, there will not be a review responses section here. I think that's going to do it for this chapter. That being said, I'm going to go, though. So have a great day and bye.
Next Chapter: Yulier, the Liberation Army's second in command, askes Kirito and friends to save a friend – and her guild.
