Mystic Knight Online
Outside Interlude - The Fourth Act
January 2, 2024 - Hogwarts
Ginny rose from her bed feeling the lightest she had in over a year. Ever since her second year ended, and her coming to terms with what happened, her emotions had always felt like a weight on her shoulders that would never go away. Until yesterday, when Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, had kicked off the new year in a way that she doubted many would be able to beat, despite being in Japan and trapped in that strange illusory world.
After all, it wasn't every New Year's Day that someone who was a hero to the British magical community ended the threat of the worst dark wizard they've seen in over a century. Gellert Grindelwald was bad news back in the day, but his actions had been more on the continent, with only a mild presence felt in the British Isles. He had less of an impact for them, simply put.
She had been surprised when the headmaster asked her to stay behind, overriding Professor McGonagall's protests on the matter. If they were going to have the third year and below students to leave, why would he make an exception for her, Ginevra Weasley? He simply replied that it was something she had to see, something which would allow her to have closure on the events of her first year. Neither she, nor Professor McGonagall needed to ask for clarification in it, and it silenced the professor's protests.
And so she was there when Hermione began her little speech, the one which she apparently used every time she began showing a recording. She didn't know why, nor did she really care all that much, considering that she only turned up occasionally just to see how Harry was doing.
When Hermione started the recording, she watched as Harry and his companions, she recognized Silica, and a teen who would have been a sixth or seventh year were she to attend the school, walk through what was clearly a ruined building of some kind. She watched as the three of them fought off everything they encountered until they reached a courtyard, where they paused to discuss something. They crossed it and entered what was obviously a chapel of some kind, and then things seemed to go wrong.
She heard Harry's scream, she saw him clutch his scar, and she watched something leave it and flow through his fingers to the other end.
Her horrified gasp as it began to form into something, a person of some sort, was heard by her brother, but she stared in horror at it as it took form. The shrieks of fear and cursing from the adults didn't register on her as she stared transfixed at what was being played. The body and face she didn't recognize, but the eyes… she knew those eyes. Tom's eyes, Voldemort's eyes.
Somehow, and she didn't want to know more than that, he managed to reach Harry.
She almost turned away, but forced herself to watch what happened next.
She watched as they were magically thrown out of the chapel. She watched as Harry sent one of his companions, Rain apparently, away. She watched as Voldemort changed in appearance, and Silica was forced back and away.
And she watched him fight. She watched him fight Voldemort into a stalemate, until something changed, and Voldemort called out a challenge. A challenge, Harry was more than willing to meet.
And she saw him kill Voldemort, his eyes cold as he told the Dark Wizard to burn. And she saw him watch the thing that was once a man burn until not even ash remained.
She would admit that she wanted to throttle that muggle girl, Silica if she recalled, when she punched him and basically tackled him right afterward. She didn't know why the girl hit him, but the tackle? Oh she understood that, and she would admit that a part of her positively burned with jealousy as he simply wrapped his arms around her.
She could see what it meant, and from the sounds of many of the girls, they could as well. Too bad for all of them, it seemed. His heart was taken, even if he didn't know it yet. While not an ideal outcome in her mind, that outcome involved her, she was happy for him anyway. He needed someone in his life, and unless he completely buggered it up, he found that someone.
Still, she almost shouted in joy when he killed Tom. He was gone. The bastard that had haunted her nightmares for over a year was finally dead.
She wouldn't tell anyone, but she was the one who came up with the ditty that spread around Hogwarts during the inevitable party that followed when that foreign woman and the headmaster confirmed that what they saw was true. That Voldemort was dead.
##
Severus looked over the assembled students of his house. He had gathered them to discuss the events of the previous day, and he made sure to have those who were involved with Miss Granger's little group present for this.
"I'm sure you are all aware of why I gathered all of you," he began. "Yesterday, Potter managed to kill the Dark Lord, and it is true, he is dead." He raised the sleeve of his robe to show the clear skin where the Dark Mark once resided. "If any of you doubt it, then the proof is right here for you to see. I never made it a secret of my past associations, and the physical representation of it is no more."
"But, how did he?" Draco Malfoy asked. "The Dark Lord… the kind of power he was said to have had shouldn't have been beaten so easily."
"You would be surprised, Draco." Severus said smoothly. "More than one witch or wizard has made the fatal mistake of assuming that just because they are powerful, that it would take a greater power to defeat them. Even muggles can kill us, far more easily now than they could centuries ago."
Draco opened his mouth as if to deny it, but snapped it shut after a moment. Severus wondered what the reasoning behind that was, but put it to the side. He saw Daphne Greengrass look as if she wanted to say something, and nodded in her direction.
"Professor," she began. "Do we know just how he managed to get himself into Sword Art Online? And if we do, can we use that to help get those trapped in there out?"
"Good questions, Miss Greengrass," he said. "But as far as I know, we don't know. At the same time, even if we did, it is doubtful. Is that satisfactory?"
She nodded.
"Now, with this in mind, many of you might be wondering, how did he do it?" The nods from many did not reassure him, though he noticed that Miss. Greengrass and a few others seemed to already know the answer, or at least think they did. He would have thought that the rest had paid more attention to the details, but it seems as if he had been remiss in teaching them what it meant to be a Slytherin.
For them, information, no matter how insignificant, was power. Without information, ambition was without direction. Without information, cunning was useless. Without information, plans were guaranteed to fail.
"You have something to say, Mr. Zabini?" He asked.
The Italian boy nodded. "Yes, professor." He said. "Granger and the rest of us in the project watched it over a second time, with Lady Shiba consenting to offer her own insights as well. It is clear that an outside power was in play. The creator of SAO, Akihiko Kayaba, had apparently noticed the… sudden entrance by the Dark Lord, and had used it. Potter was aware of it, based on his comments, and his words to the Dark Lord. He called Kayaba SAO's Demiurge, whatever that means."
"It has a number of meanings, Mr. Zabini," Severus said with a nod. "But in the context, he was probably saying that while the man's powers were godlike in Sword Art Online, he wasn't a god. He was basically calling the man a false god."
"Thank you, professor." Blaise replied. "Well, after that, the two of them fought, and while Potter was using magic as far as we could tell, he didn't rely on it. In fact, his means of winning the fight was rather pragmatic. Mundane and improvised, but pragmatic. Though, he ended it quite impressively, if brutally."
"Indeed, Mr. Zabini," Severus replied drily. "Stabbing him in the heart and then burning him alive would be considered rather impressive and brutal. Anything else of note?"
"Only that it is clear now that Silica is probably aware of magic, and has been for some time."
"She is," Daphne said. "Her family, despite being non-magical, is an exception to the rule regarding muggles knowing about magic. Some members are affected by what is known as a Jusenkyo curse. They're bound by the Statute, but are allowed to know about it as they are, technically, a part of our world."
Severus considered that, and nodded. It really didn't matter, and wasn't of much concern to him. A curiosity at most, but not a concern.
He did hear some mentions about the apparent relationship between Potter and the girl, but dismissed them. Another thing that wasn't any concern of his.
It might be a concern for the students, though. He had heard some students gossiping about the likelihood of Potter getting romantically involved it the girl. If he did become romantically involved with her, it meant that any possibility of a magical family forming a connection with the Potter Family line through marriage would have to be put off for a generation.
A minor political concern when it came to family politics, at most.
That any children from a union between Potter and that girl would be magical, and moderately powerful, was obvious to him. Magic bred true more often than not, and the Potters were known for producing moderately powerful wizards and witches, regardless of blood status.
He had never really bought into that more extreme blood status aspects of pureblood ideology, seeing them as self-defeating. Keeping magical marriages and births in the magical population as much as practicable was one thing, but restricting it only to established lines, and further restricting it on the basis of ideological grounds, thus limiting it to fewer bloodlines, was simply asking for inbreeding depression to take effect.
The increase in squib births and insanity in family lines who took it far more closely than was safe served as an effective demonstration of the foolishness of that mindset. And that was if they didn't breed themselves out of existence. With the Dark Lord truly dead and gone, his more radical ideology would die as well.
It wouldn't end the pureblood beliefs, and he wouldn't even try to espouse an end to them. However, he could use this to moderate them and bring them back to a more pragmatic viewpoint. More like how it was before the Dark Lord's rise to power. He would just need to plant the seeds for it.
"Many of you would wonder how a halfblood like Potter would still manage to triumph, despite the observations of Mr. Zabini," he started. "However, you need to keep in mind that the Dark Lord was, despite what he espoused and claimed, a halfblood. Draco, keep silent until I am done, thank you.
"Do not mistake purity of blood as the end all, be all. It has its advantages, true, but being as restrictive of it as the Dark Lord espoused would have resulted in many bloodlines being irreparably weakened within a few generations…"
As he spoke, he saw that several were finding it hard to believe, but he also noticed several nodding along, as if they knew what he was talking about. All of his students from the more neutrally aligned families had apparently learned this already, but more than a few from the more traditionally aligned families apparently knew as well.
Good, it meant that he would probably have less trouble than he expected.
January 5, 2024 - Chiyoda, Prime Minister's Office
Norihito Yakufuni looked out the windows of the Kantei as he considered the information he had just been given by the Minister of Justice, along with the recommendations on how to handle the situation. He had been Prime Minister when the SAO Incident started, and it had only been through a combination of luck, decisiveness on his part, and his popularity with the public that allowed him to stay in office. Well, that and no one wanted to be in his position if the entire incident ended badly.
This newest information about a sudden rash of killings done by players inside the game was unpleasant, to say the least. The Diet hadn't yet made an issue of it, but it brought back what had happened in June, when a similar series of incidents had occurred. And by many of the same perpetrators no less.
The SAO taskforce and the Ministry of Justice both recommended a wait and see approach then, as the players who had acted in their own defense had managed to put a stop to it then, at least temporarily. If nothing else like it happened, then good, it could all be swept away and forgotten, though the perpetrators would likely find themselves being arrested shortly after awakening to await trial for their actions. If it had continued, then the recommendation was to transfer the perpetrators to a secure facility immediately.
For those who acted in clear self-defense or defense of others, it was recommended that they be watched and monitored, to ensure that what happened wasn't a prelude to them developing antisocial and sociopathic behaviors. If they survived to get out of SAO, they would be required to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation, for the same reasons. Otherwise, they would be left alone. As it stood, many were expected to develop psychological issues related to the events.
Not an ideal solution, given the circumstances, but it was a compromise which they could live with.
That had been then, and the current recommendations were more of the same. No one wanted to be the ones to make a decision which could set a bad legal precedent, especially when all the involved parties were perceived as victims of circumstance. How many of them were people who simply broke under the effects of what happened? How should they be treated outside of facing the legal consequences of their actions? Could they even be considered sane anymore?
Difficult questions, and ones that were not prone to easy answers.
The public would be less than happy about it, but any uproar it would cause would eventually die down. From what members of the taskforce had mentioned, it was likely that the players themselves would take care of the matter. Violently, if need be.
That would get some members of the Diet and the Judiciary in an uproar, but unless they were willing to consign people to death without a trial, then everyone's hands were legally tied. Not that he didn't expect some among the private citizens to take matters into their own hands.
Vengeance had a long history in Japan, after all. And with it now known that Kayaba was dead, they couldn't direct it on him.
January 15, 2024 - Suginami, Nakano General Hospital
I'll never get used to watching things like this, Sirius thought as he watched the fight against the fiftieth floor boss end. He watched as the fight went on, his heart leaping into his throat as his godson's health plummeted down to dangerous levels from that one attack, only to watch as Harry took only enough time to get his health up to a "safe" level and come up with a plan.
He snorted at the commentary coming from those in the fight, knowing that they were covering their own nervousness at their situation with humor, grim as it could be at times.
"I take it they won?" Came from Kotoha. The Hanaori retainer to the Shiba clan had become a regular presence in the hospital, much to the resignation of the Wainwrights. On the other hand, they didn't complain, much, about the Shibas taking a more active role in things.
"They can act in ways we can't for a number of reasons," Selene said when he quietly asked her about it. "At the same time, they are allies of the Potter family, which means that they can also extend certain protections to him due to cultural matters. They've already extended their hospitality to him, making him a guest, meaning that they're now committed to ensuring his wellbeing. We would have done the same if this was the States."
Sirius knew what she was referring to. Rules of hospitality for many cultures were similar, even when the cultures were wildly different. If one extends hospitality, then they were bound by its rules to ensure that their guests were well taken care of. Of course, the guest had to first accept the hospitality, something that Harry was currently incapable of, but the meaning behind the gesture was understood.
Sirius turned his attention to Kotoha and nodded. "I'll never get used to seeing that, and his parents would be a mix of worried and proud, but yeah, they won." He looked at Harry's form on the hospital bed. "I wonder though, how much of what he can do there will remain when he gets out."
Kotoha gave a hum as she thought it over. "Maybe the physical skills," she said. "It's possible that the muscle memory would carry over. His body wouldn't be in shape for it, but… it wouldn't surprise me if he knew his way around a sword."
Sirius considered that and nodded. It made sense, in a way. "And what about his magic?" He asked.
Kotoha frowned. "I don't know," she admitted. "It might, or it might not carry over what I think you're implying, but I don't know."
Sirius shrugged. "I'll ask Albus when time I return to England next week," he said. "He might have an idea or two on it. He wanted to talk to me about something."
"Oh?"
"Apparently his cousin talked to the press," Sirius said. "Seems as if Harry's hopes for the kid might come true. The boy looks like he's developed a conscience."
January 16, 2024- Smeltings
"Because, Professor Dumbledore, my parents utterly failed to see how trying to have it both ways exposed their... what's the word... hypocracy?"
Albus lowered the copy of the London Times with the headline declaring, "COUSIN OF BRITISH SAO VICTIM: PARENTS TREATED HIM 'CRIMINALLY'" and smirked at Harry Potter's cousin. "Trying to reap the sympathies of the situation while also continuing to lambaste Harry? Oh, and the word you are looking for is hypocrisy."
"Lambaste, one of my classmates used that one. I like it," Dudley said with a smile. Then he grew serious. "I came to Smeltings with my father's reputation dogging me, Professor. That meant I had several members of staff working very hard from the day I got here to tell me how wrong I was being led, and how they didn't want another Vernon in these halls. And I've talked enough with the other boys here to know that there's no bloody way having 'the closet under the stairs' as a room is normal, sir. Pardon my language."
"I've yet to fully remove the salt from my own language, young man, I can hardly insist on perfection from you," Albus replied with a chuckle.
This was a boy rapidly becoming a young man, Albus could see. The stresses wearing down his rough edges and making cracks of character in him were different than Harry's, of course. But they were there.
"Sir," Dudley asked leaning forward over the meeting table between them, "How much of the information the Home Office gave the press about Harry's parents is true?"
Albus sighed. "The truth, minus magic. Much like the way Harry's been alluding to his life in Sword Art Online when he must."
Dudley closed his eyes. "Then pardon my language, Professor, but... that's some heavy shit. The cousin my dad encouraged me to 'hunt' and bully. Orphaned by a terrorist."
"You've helped him," Dumbledore noted. He gestured to the paper. "Events a couple of weeks ago have resulted in one of the key reasons he was left in your parent's care being taken care of. And the protection I placed on him and your family when I delivered him to you are only shored up by those ties of blood being acknowledged."
"Can those... protections move with me? If the Crown gets involved-"
"They are strongest when the family is together," Albus explained. "But you each carry a measure of it, strengthened by honest care between family. Harry's godfather... he was falsely imprisoned as a terrorist, and is recovering. He's eager to take a role in Harry's life. If Sirius were to assume custody, and you were fostered out after an investigation, you'd each take a measure of that protection, based on your bond of blood through Harry's mother. If, say, your parents only kept in touch with you, but you kept in touch with them or made efforts to, and also talked with Harry regularly, that would give Harry the strongest protections, and your parents the weakest."
Dudley slowly nodded. "Sir? What were Harry's mum and dad really like? Because my parents always told Harry they were a pair of drunks on the dole... and I'd like to actually know about my aunt and uncle."
Albus smiled again. "James Potter and Lily Evans were, quite simply, two extraordinary people..."
London, Ministry of Magic
There were times when she wondered why she took up this job.
Amelia Bones looked at the newspaper in front of her and sighed. The last two weeks had been annoying enough. First, Harry Potter manages to kill Voldemort, who wasn't as dead as many believed. Second, the resulting parties had her department working overtime with obliviations, reigning in the over enthusiastic and often drunk partiers that got out of hand, and the mess of straightening it out with the muggle authorities.
Her Majesty and the Prime Minister had not been amused. Understanding, once she explained it, but not amused. Neither was she, when she realized that Cornelius had tried to throw her into the dragon's maw for that.
And now, she had this on her desk. If it wasn't for the fact that she paid attention to muggle news, she would have likely been surprised by it. She knew that the Wizengamot was liable to call a meeting about it, Cornelius would probably try to make a decision in reckless haste to be seen doing something, and it would leave another mess for her to clean up.
She heard a knock at the door.
"Oh bloody- come in," she said.
"Bad time, Amelia?"
Amelia Bones blinked, then she just had to smile at the white-haired man who walked in.
"Sergeant Major William Gravel," she said softly.
"Leave it out, Milly," Gravel grumbled, and the man was still solid muscle well into his... early fifties? No, late forties. He had been a third year to her first. Still one of the best Slytherins in centuries. "Your people checked my wand but missed the ring and all my guns and such."
Amelia scowled. "Which you grow in that Body Orchard of yours. So they damn well would have shown up on the standard scrying. I'll have words. You here as head of the Major Seven, SAS, Her Majesty's Magical Guardian in Ordinary...?"
"I'm here because the little scrot I caught selling OWL and NEWT tests and essays that is Minister of Magic. I'm hearing about his shite from the PMO, several of Her Majesty's aides, and the boys and girls in the combat mage pool. Milly, Albus contacted me about this."
"And when Second Chance Albus is pissed off enough to call in Bloody Bill," Amelia shook her head. "I honestly thought getting rid of Umbitch would moderate him, but if anything he's more self-absorbed and..."
"He's too concerned with what he's seen to be doing, and not enough with what needs to be done. Like when they tried the Brexit shite a few years ago. If they had done their homework, and done it right, it could have been managed properly," William said. "Now, same party in power, but they're bloody working to repair the hit we took and make the EU work sanely. Politics is about using power, not having it. Hard and soft power in the right places."
Amelia smirked at him. "Are you here to offer some hard power?"
Bill's look back was carved of goblin marble. "How many times were the Potters on the frontlines with us against Tommy, Milly?" He asked. "And he wants to fuck with their son? A boy that the Queen asks about since he's stuck in SAO? She's always been interested in technology, so she has been paying attention to what's been going on. Finding out the British boy trapped in SAO is one of her magical subjects just means she wants my ear all the more often. Albus' too." He leaned forward. "So... do we want Corny dead politically, or physically as well? Because Her Majesty's a bit put out with him, and Prince William's started to notice. And when he starts taking interest... the fire should already be out."
Amelia shared a nasty grin with the SAS Combat Mage. "I'm fond of a good character assassination, myself."
"Hufflepuffs, can't take your bloody eyes off them."
"And you shouldn't show your back to Slytherins." Amelia replied drily.
"Is that why you always sat across from me at Christmas?" Bill asked.
"No, I had a bit of a crush on you," Amelia admitted. "Then I got to know you. After that, it was just a bad habit I couldn't break. Like smoking, really. Which you got me hooked on, now that I think of it. You're really terrible, Bill."
Bill sighed. "No respect for your upper classmen."
"Like I said, I know you." Amelia replied with a smirk.
Bill chuckled. "Fair cop."
Amelia's expression then became serious again. "Be honest with me Bill, how is Her Majesty?" She asked.
"She's starting to decline," he said. "She's still sharp as a tack, but she's been alive for ninety-seven years, and reigned for over seventy of them. There are many who think she should step down, and live out her remaining years without the responsibilities, but you know how stubborn she can be. It isn't helped that Prince Charles died last year from a heart attack. That took a toll on her, and may have contributed to her decline." He sighed. "No parent should outlive their children, Milly."
Amelia nodded. "It will pain Albus greatly if she passes on before he does" she said sadly. "She's one of his dearest friends, and he has outlived so many as it is."
"Albus once told me that being as powerful as he is a 'cursed blessing'. At first I thought he was just all mouth and trousers, trying to keep a Slytherin straight. But he was right. Think about how long our old bastard of a headmaster has lived," Bill said somberly. "He'll be a hundred and forty-four this year, and has seen the full reigns of all bloody three monarchs before Her Majesty. And each one, a friend at best and a respected acquaintance at least. Albie's an old man, who has a habit of outliving those he cares for."
"He outlived his entire family and the Potters," Amelia noted. Bill smirked back.
"Except Harry." He pointed out. "I think Harry setting Tom on fire and killing the bloody pillock gave Albus some fucking hope. The son of his favorite Griffons. He always had a few in each house. At least one or two of his favorite Badgers- don't you wave it off, he doted on you like a niece as much as he could. You were all successful. For the Ravens, he sponsored Fillius into the dueling circuit, and got Septima to go to Uni to revolutionize Arithmancy based off of what she learned from muggle maths. And Sevvy, Lu, and me. His three favorite snakes."
"I find it odd that you consider Lucius in that group," Amelia said.
Bill shrugged. "You think Albus couldn't have stopped the bribes, Milly?" He asked drily. "Lucius might have used a few bribes, but he fucking well burned those bridges right after. He knows better to rely on them, and hasn't resorted to bribery since. He only waded in shite because he had to. All because that tit, Tommy, managed to get him to bow to him and secure his loyalty. Had he known then what he learned later, he wouldn't have. He'd have probably played the neutral card and tried to sit it all out, but he wouldn't have joined up with that bastard. Once Tom was defeated he did what he had to do to stay out of that shithole, Azkaban. Or, at least keep his family's name clean, but he's a Malfoy. They were pragmatists before it was fashionable."
##
Lucius knew the moment that William "Bloody Bill" Gravel entered the Ministry, that Cornelius' career was over. And that was if Amelia didn't decide to wash her hands of things and allow the SAS Sergeant Major to take matters into his own hands.
It is well and good that I just informed Cornelius that I would be unable to assist or advise him in things from now on, he thought to himself. While it wouldn't keep all of the inevitable backlash off of him, it would be enough. After all, Cornelius' actions were a result of him not following the advice he provided on several occasions.
Lucius sat in the Malfoy seat office and contemplated a bottle of brandy his father had been saving before he died. Magically preserved at its peak... it might just be due for an opening in a few days.
Bloody Bill was nothing if not ruthless and efficient.
##
Augusta Longbottom received the word of William Gravel's arrival with her usual aplomb. She had seen it coming for months, and wondered why it took this long for Her Majesty to finally lose patience with the idiot they had been saddled with as Minister. Perhaps it was simply due to waiting to see if Cornelius could dig himself out of the political hole he dug himself into, or perhaps it was her waiting to see if he would do them all a favor and hang himself with the metaphorical rope he had been so eagerly grabbing like some precious commodity.
Ah well, whatever the reason, the wizard turned elite soldier turned Queen's guard dog (so much like his father in that!), was at the Ministry. She knew he had headed to the DMLE, so it was likely that he would spend time talking with Amelia for a bit, perhaps to come up with a plan of action-
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Augusta said with an odd tingle of pleasure.
A head topped with white hair slipped into the door. "Auntie Gusta! Fancy getting your one-eyed madman in here so you two can help us take care of a lame duck minister?"
Augusta frowned at him. "Language, William."
He sighed. "The fucking lame duck minister."
"That's better. I'll see if Alastor can be made available, but he is so busy at Hogwarts."
"Oh, brilliant. Albie can bring him," Bill said.
That got Augusta to cock her head. "Albus has lost patience with him? How the fucking hell is the daft bloody fool still alive?" She asked. "I thought it was only Her Majesty, and maybe the Prime Minister, that had finally decided we needed a new Minister of Magic."
"I think Milly convinced him to go a more Hufflepuff route," Bill admitted.
Augusta thought a moment. "Acceptable." She stood. "Absolute liquidation of the tosser's political and character capital, then. Oh, it's been too long since the last time." She barked a laugh. "Too long indeed. I wonder how much blood and viscera they'll have to clean up off the floor of the Wizengamot this time."
"Oh, we're not going to let him and his do anything as mundane as commit suicide, Gusta," Bill said, moving to help her. "He'd bugger it up somehow and take 'till the next election to die then."
"Bill."
The two paused as he looked at her.
"Your father would be proud of you," she said.
Bill sighed. "I know. He said so when I killed him."
Augusta just patted his shoulder. "Lead on, Bloody Bill. Augusta the Vulture senses political death in the air."
January 21, 2024 - Unplottable Location, Malfoy Manor
Lucius poured himself a generous helping of brandy as he sat down in his personal office. He had just gotten back from a Wizengamot meeting. Cornelius was done for, and no longer Minister of Magic. It had been obvious that his position was on shaky ground even before Halloween, when the bloody fool basically tried to do a summary execution on Barty Crouch Jr just to be seen doing something.
His deciding on that action simply meant that Amelia Bones, who damn well knew where the the skeletons of the Ministry's bodies were kept hidden, had started preparing for this. To add to it, Sergeant Major William "Bloody Bill" Gravel was getting involved, which meant that Her Majesty had finally had enough. And the thought of the Prince stepping in... few actually knew what the Queen's heir and favorite grandson got up to during his tours. Lucius did. His awards and honors weren't entirely for show.
It had become increasingly obvious that Cornelius was buckling under the pressure of his job for some time, and that a compromise pick such as him might have been ill advised. Then again, no one suitable for the job could be agreed on, or even wanted the job for that matter. They needed to pick someone who wasn't affiliated with any of the factions.
Perhaps it had been in the main, that tendency for something completely out of the ordinary to happen due to the actions of others that had put Fudge's reign to the hatchet. Had he handled them wisely and well, or at least listened more often to the recommendations both he and Albus had provided, then perhaps things wouldn't have started going downhill for him. And Augusta "Fuck with me and I'll bugger you with your own wand" Longbottom, and the Mad Slytherin she'd most certainly not married wouldn't have joined in. Augusta alone was bad enough, she was called The Vulture for a reason. Her taking an interest in someone meant that their career was about to die spectacularly and she wanted to watch the show.
Lucius shuddered. Seeing Moody look at him and simply shake his head had been both reassuring and... well, he was still shivering at the thought of joining Fudge in his fate.
Admittedly, Lucius knew he was not without blame there. He had easily insinuated himself into the Minister's circle shortly after the school year began the same year of Cornelius' election. Bagnold hadn't trusted any who bore the Dark Mark, claims of being under the Imperius curse, uses of influence, connections, and bribes, or not. She had kept them at arm's length, but Cornelius was much more amenable, and he took advantage of that fact.
So he was able to gain more influence over the Minister, being careful to not bribe, but simply… suggest things. A few suggestions on investments to make, some nice gifts, and some policy recommendations. Nothing more than those, and all of them fully in line with what his father taught him about playing the long game and being a power behind the throne.
He remembered his father's warnings about bribes.
"Relying on bribes will get you what you want in the short term, but it's a losing game in the long run. Bribe them once, and you'll have to bribe them constantly, and in greater amounts, to keep them bought," was what he was told.
He used bribery in the aftermath of the war, because his purposes for them were short term. He needed to stay out of prison, and it had cost him deeply. Not only in money, which was almost ruinous, but it cost him a great deal of family influence as well. Influence, which was the real source of power for the Malfoy family, took longer to rebuild than money. Even after thirteen years, the influence he could wield was but a pale shadow of what his family had before he made the mistake of following the Dark Lord, may he burn in whatever hell he went to.
It would cost him, his having been within the Minister's circle would be a mark against him, especially since he only got out just in time to avoid the fallout. He would swallow his pride, accept that he would lose money and influence, and work to recoup the losses. He'd get the shit smeared on him, and have to wipe it off.
There will always be other opportunities, he thought as he picked up a report from the same contact who informed him of the Nerve Gear and Sword Art Online. A new technology, basically an improvement over the Nerve Gear, but without the dangers, was soon to be released internationally.
Perhaps he should look into a way to capitalize on it. The viewings of Mr. Potter's activities has already generated some interest in integrating some muggle technologies. They just had to determine how to either modify them to work on magic, and thus bypassing some of the issues with integrating in muggle technology, or find another way.
Archimedes had highlighted the primary issue more than two thousand years ago. Two things cannot occupy the same space at one time, and that also included energy. In a high magic environment, and most wizarding homes that had been occupied for more than a few generations certainly qualified, to say nothing about Hogwarts, the magical energy tried to take the place of electricity.
He heard that there was a way around it, but it still didn't address the issue of providing the electricity. Not to mention everything else. Perhaps one of his contacts might know of a solution, even a muggle one.
He could see the possibility of change coming, and he wanted to be in position to benefit from it if it happened. He could easily moderate his stance enough without compromising his core ideals. But then, the core ideals of a Malfoy were to act in a manner which benefitted the family in the long run. If that required subtly shifting politically, then that was what was required.
He would never be on the more liberal side of the political spectrum, but he didn't need to be. Publically shifting to a more neutral stance on some things would probably benefit the Malfoy family more in the long run. He would still espouse a more traditional outlook, but a public amenability to other outlooks, provided that a convincing enough argument could be made in favor of them, would not be amiss.
February 7, 2024 - Chiyoda, SAO Taskforce Office
Seijiro Kikuoka listened to the representative sent by the Ministry of Justice as he brought up the specifics of the plan the Diet came up with regarding Laughing Coffin and restrained an urge to sigh. The politicians who made the decision hadn't thought of the difficulty of finding one specific person out of thousands to transfer to a location under Law Enforcement Custody.
To his credit, the functionary briefing him on the plan seemed to be aware of the issue.
"Mr. Kikuoka," the man continued. "I am aware that this will require us knowing the identities of the Laughing Coffin members, which is why we are asking for the cooperation of your taskforce. If you can provide a list of the known members, we can be about this unpleasant business."
Kikuoka nodded. "Before we do, I wish to ask a few questions, if it would be no bother." He said.
The functionary nodded. "And what would those be?" He asked.
"First, if they are to face justice for their crimes, they will have to be alive to do so," he said. "How will you ensure that while they are being moved, you will be able to do so? The window for a disconnection is significantly shorter than it was at the start, and dozens have died due to service interruptions because of that until all the areas around the hospitals had their infrastructure upgraded."
"Second, what about those who have acted in self-defense or defense of others? There are those who have killed due to being in a situation where if they didn't, themselves or their comrades would have been killed.
"Finally, this won't halt Laughing Coffin's activities in SAO, and I have no doubts that the players will eventually take matters into their own hands with regard to them. What is the legal opinion on that?
The man nodded. "Valid concerns. With regards to your first question, we are looking into using wireless connections. We have secured the services of several telecom companies for this. It will take some time to acquire and test the proper equipment, but I have been informed that it is doable. As for your second question, it is the opinions of the Judiciary and the Ministry, with the approval of the Diet, that in light of the exceptional circumstances, those who have used lethal force in self-defense, or defense of others will not be charged with a crime. They will, however, be required to undergo more thorough counseling and psychological evaluations than was decided for any and all survivors."
Kikuoka nodded. "Reasonable," he said. "And with regard to them taking matters into their own hands?"
The man grimaced. "We're hoping that it won't come to that, but it is recognized as probable." He admitted. "Again, the circumstances are recognized as exceptional. While no formal decision has been made on that specific matter, it is likely that they will not be charged."
Kikuoka nodded, unsurprised. Because of the situation, if the players did take matters into their own hands, then any killings could be considered under the answer of his second question, from a certain point of view. The legalists were probably unsatisfied about it, the law was the law, after all, but it was a recognition of just how complicated things really were. It was a complication that, thankfully, didn't apply to the Laughing Coffin members. Since they were outright murderers who often enjoyed what they did, that simplified things, even if it didn't solve them.
February 13, 2024 - Setagaya, RECT HQ
Noboyuki Sugou looked over the test data from the simulations and nodded. Everything was developing as he expected. With direct access to the SAO servers, as well as a complete copy of the beta test data, he and his team had managed to uncover a great deal about how it was designed, how its security worked, and were steadily reverse-engineering it all.
The data showed that the Nerve Gear systems took in a lot of data due to how they interacted with the brains of those trapped within. It then reinterpreted that data to electronic signals, programming code, and more.
With this, they now were able to quantify emotions and thoughts at a fundamental level. And it gave him an idea.
He had taken the job as a means of getting back at Kayaba. To beat the man's system and ruin his greatest achievement. But now…
But now, he saw other possibilities. Why try and bring it down when he could subvert it to his own ends. If he was now able to quantify what was often technically and philosophically held to be unquantifiable, to show that thoughts could be translated into computer code, then what was to stop them manipulating that code? And if he could do that, then what was to stop him from breaking into the system itself and making it his own?
And if he could do that then, the possibilities were endless. He could have it all. Power, wealth, prestige. If he wanted it, he could get it.
##
Shouzou Yuuki looked at the report handed to him by the man he had carefully placed on Noboyuki's team, and compared it to the latest report submitted through official channels. He prided himself in the ability to recruit talent, and the man certainly was talented. Not to Kayaba's level, but talent was still talent.
However, Nabiki Tendo's warnings about the man, his own observations in light of them, as well as having people he knew were loyal only to him on the team, was showing a different facet of the man's character. It was showing that the man wasn't what he presented to the public. He had dealt with men like that before, and so long as they delivered on their promises, he could work with them. But this was showing attempts at deceiving him as to what was really going on.
Just from the comparisons of the reports, he could transparently see the irregularities. Noboyuki's report indicated a frustrating lack of progress, with no additional details. The report submitted by the man he had, well, spying on Noboyuki, showed a wealth of data that painted a dangerous, and potentially frightening picture.
Observing the Nerve Gear's interactions with SAO at the data level in order to reverse engineer it was one thing. He could see the logic in that, and how it can be used to understand the workings of SAO. But it was the wrong level of evaluation. One didn't look at the flows of electrons in a calculator to figure out how it worked, one looked at how it directed those currents through certain circuits to trigger its operations.
And when Noboyuki's work did ascend from the physical to the design level... it wasn't looking in the right place. He was unduly fascinated with the Nerve Gear effects on the mind. Yes, that was a factor, but he was just... too focused on how the Nerve Gear could change minds.
Perhaps most disturbing was that Noboyuki's true persona came off rather more like a low-grade shonen anime villain than anything else, and that very cartoonishness made it all the more chilling. It spoke of a disconnect from reality even Akihiko Kayaba seemed to avoid while he was still alive.
Looking at the whole picture, Noboyuki was fixing either to replace Kayaba, or to set up his own world to rule.
One SAO incident was enough.
Now, there was just the matter of how to deal with him. Noboyuki was, unfortunately, too necessary right now, or he would be fired. Fired, and a few things handed to the SAO Taskforce, as the man looked like he could present a clear threat to the wellbeing of those trapped there.
Which included Asuna.
Perhaps I should release some of this information to them, he thought. They have not forced themselves into our affairs, and the head of the task force, Kikuoka… he looks like the type who knows how to be discrete.
February 20, 2024 - Kawagoe, Kirigaya Residence
Suguha swung her shinai as she went through her routines again. She might be a part of her school's kendo club, and get plenty of training there, but the advantage of having a dojo as a part of the house meant that she had no reason to not make use of it. Especially since the cold weather outside made it far more comfortable to train inside it.
Finishing the first set, she paused and changed her stance. Her grandfather had taught both her and Kazuto a number of stances, and had encouraged both to practice regularly with them. Many might not be completely appropriate for official tournaments, at least not ones at her level, but Kendo was still a fighting art.
And if she was honest, the practice had helped when she had been one of those who had been selected to beta test Alfheim Online, or ALO, as it was already being called. It was an odd coincidence. The fact that a number of those on the kendo team also had the opportunity, probably meant that it was just that, a coincidence.
It wouldn't be as if she was picked because Kazuto was in SAO. That would be crazy.
It was curiosity about what her brother saw in virtual gaming that kept her from simply ignoring it. Well, what he initially saw in it. She doubted he saw it the same way he did back then now. Not after what happened in June. Not after he killed someone in SAO.
She still didn't know what to feel about that, but he seemed to bounce back from it after a few weeks. It had been painful for her to watch his emotional turmoil during those weeks. To watch him tear himself up about what he did in order to save people. She was glad that the friends he made were there for him, though.
She did wonder what that one boy, Hadrian, meant by some of his comments. Why would his hands sometimes smell like burned pork and ash? Why would a sword feel heavier? She knew it had something to do with what happened, but she lacked context.
So, she tried out ALO, experimented with it, and the experience was like nothing else. A fairly realistic world to explore, to make practical use of her kendo training in, magic, and flight. Oh gods, to be able to experience flight under her own power, even if it was in a game.
That made it all worth it right there. The combat was fun, scary at first against the mobs, but fun. The magic was cool, if annoying with having to basically memorize words from a made up language and their meanings, but cool. However, the flying? She was sold on the game right there.
Three more weeks until it went live.
February 22, 2024 - Suginami, Nakano General Hospital
Ayane Saotome walked into the hospital room, nodding to her older sister sitting by Keiko's bed. She looked her niece over and winced at the girl's gaunt form, but wasn't surprised. She had seen far too many SAO victims to be surprised by the effects of not getting calories and the inevitable muscle atrophy from being confined to a bed.
For Keiko, thanks to a number of factors, it wasn't too bad. She also didn't doubt that Uncle Tofu had done some discrete treatments to slow it down even further. Most SAO victims looked as if they had been going through a particularly bad famine, despite the nutrients and the special hospital beds used to slow the degradation of their bodies. Keiko simply looked as if she was merely half-starved.
Still, if they couldn't find a way to get them out, they only had so much time left before even that wouldn't be enough. Oh, they could be kept alive, but after a couple more years, most of the players would have degraded so much that they would never fully recover.
Still, she wished more could be done. Not only for her niece, but for all of them.
She had decided to become a doctor, rather than a martial artist because she wanted to help people. Her parents had been disappointed, but supportive of her decision. After all, while being a martial artist would help carry on the family's traditions, her siblings could do so. Akira was set to be the heir, Ko was a master of the Amazon techniques which had been incorporated into the style, and Sumire would have been a master in her own right had she not had Keiko when she did.
She, however, lacked the temperament for it. She learned the family style, but she wasn't a fighter. She was, as her father put it, gentle and nurturing. So, while they were disappointed, the fact that she had decided to become a doctor was respected.
"A doctor can save more lives and more often than a fighter can," her father said when she made her decision. "It won't be easy, but that just means that you'll rise to the challenge. You're a Saotome, so I expect you to give it your all."
And she did. Seven years of schooling, a year of residency, and she was the first Saotome to become a doctor. When she had finally gotten her medical license to practice medicine, she was proud of it.
So what if she also became a local legend at Yokohama General Hospital. A little slip of a girl, as small as her father when he was in his cursed form, capable of restraining particularly recalcitrant patients was nothing odd to her. She grew up in Nerima, with its martial artists and generally weird shit. Hell, Uncle Ryoga's alien friend, Gordon, was practically boring when he stopped by.
"It still hurts to see her like this, Ayane," her sister said.
"I know, Sumire," she said. "She's better off than most, but still…"
Sumire nodded. "And with everything going on in there now…"
"Yeah…"
Ayane looked at the computer monitor and watched as her niece walked down a pathway. "She's not with her usual group," she noted. "I've watched a bit from the online feeds, when I managed the time."
"They're trailing behind a bit to serve as backup," Sumire responded. "With those killers on the loose, that group, which she helped train by the way, asked for it. Just in case mind you."
Ayane nodded. It made sense to her, even if she wished that her niece wasn't putting herself- wait, she was paying attention to something. Specific attention, too specific for her comfort. "Um, Sumire… that just in case might have just become..."
Sumire turned her attention to the screen and cursed when she saw what her sister had.
The two of them watched as knives were thrown out of the bushes. Ayane noted that Keiko had managed to block or deflect any of the ones that came her way with her dagger and smiled grimly. She heard Sumire growl as the attackers came from their hiding spot and looked at her.
"Know them?" She asked.
"I know who the one in charge of them is," her sister ground out. "He attacked her back in June. His partner was killed by that boy, Harry Potter, Keiko seems to be sweet on, but he got away. If he was where I could get him…"
Ayane nodded, understanding. Her medical oaths would have prevented her from taking direct action herself, but… accidents happen. Too bad the police had already removed all those in the group he was most likely a member of.
"How bad is it?" She asked.
"She's getting her group to be defensive," her sister replied. "Once the backup arrives, those guys are going to run, especially with Mr. Potter among them. He's the one that's been with her since day one, and is fiercely protective of her." She gave a cold smile. "He has a bit of a reputation with players like them."
Ayane nodded. All Keiko had to do was hold out, and as she watched the fight, she saw that doing so wouldn't be a problem for her niece. Her companions were solid fighters in their own right, she could tell. And they weren't being reckless about it either.
She didn't agree with standing and fighting like that, the numbers alone made it a losing battle. She would rather Keiko and her friends withdrew, but that wasn't wise in light of what she saw. Even if it was, she doubted that her niece would have anyway. She knew that some things were just in the blood, and Keiko was a Saotome by blood, with all that implied.
March 2, 2024 - Shiba Compound, Unplottable.
Lady Kaoru Shiba considered her guest carefully. "This was... before the fall of your original home world, Mr. Shumway?"
When the Melmacian had sent word to his contacts in the American government, originally it was hoped his friend from Nerima could step in. But Mr. Hibiki was, true to his reputation, proving hard to find. Still, being used to dealing with non-humans native to Earth gave her a bit of an edge, and the fact that Gordon "Alf" Shumway was used to humanity already helped.
That the American representative appeared to be an old friend of Mr. Shumway (greeted with a hearty "Captain Rick!" and an story about Captain Rick Mulligan saving Gordon's life from a traitor) and spoke decent Japanese was simply a bonus. She wouldn't have had a problem having the conversation in English, she was fluent in it after all, but it was always appreciated when someone spoke her own language.
Shumway nodded. His own Japanese actually had more of a working class British sounding accent- more the phrasing than anything. Perhaps it was his native tongue's influence. "Most major civs reach the point you get your immersive VR, and we hit it about five years before we blew up. In our case, it was a system glitch that got people stuck in the first upgrade of Meltarian Freedom Fighters vs. The Mel's Angels. Standard fantasy, as it went back home."
"And one of the first things you tried was some kind of controlled EMP?" the Captain asked, tapping a note into his tablet.
"And there's problem number one," Shumway said, and what must of been the Melmacian version of a frown crossed his face. "Skip'd be better at your technical side, but basically, hitting the machine making your people see the world in there and not scrambling their brains with a strong enough EMP is gonna be difficult. We had contact with folks inside, so once we thought we had that licked, we got volunteers." The XT shook his head. "We went through three, the last one insisting we give it just one more shot, before we gave up. The head of the Science Bureau team looking after them said it was a matter of trying to do... eh, compare it to removing the tonsils of an awake patient who was compulsively dancing. Too many factors. Too much going on."
"Did they get out?" Kaoru asked, not able to keep the worry from her voice.
Shumway sighed. "It was pretty much accidently doing what your local jerk set up on purpose," he said. "Someone did something in game that made the glitch resolve. But I've put a line out there in the Big Black. If any species on the Clear List knows a way, we'll find it. It might not work for humans, but it would at least give us a place to start. If we find it, we'll clear it through Rick and the MIB."
"You know the CIA members of the Alien Task Force hate that name, Gordon," the Captain said, smirking.
"Then why does Agent Klein chuckle every time I say it?" Shumway shot back. Then he looked thoughtful. "Rhonda did find some data on how we kept people in there healthy and helped them recover. I know we're different in a lot of ways, but we're similar enough I survived here for four years without too many problems. You're doing good with what you already have, but it can't hurt."
"I have a crystal to SD transfer device, and we can get you a translation, Lady Kaoru," the Captain offered.
"That would be most agreeable," Kaoru said.
"Good. Now, when do we eat?" Shumway said.
"Gordon!" the Captain chided.
"What, you're saying not to feed the Melmacian Ambassador?" Shumway said, feigning shock. "Rickie, you know my metabolism..."
"Fourteen plus years of friendship and I still walk right into that..." the Captain grumbled.
Karou smiled, amused. "We do have a meal prepared, actually."
With a small smile, Shumway nodded. "As long as it's no problem."
March 9, 2024 - Hogwarts, New Viewing Room
Hermione listened to the various analyses provided by those with her. Since Harry's actions on New Year's, the number of participants had increased enough that they needed to move to a larger classroom for the extra space. And while the attendance had dropped a bit, it hadn't dropped enough to warrant moving back to the old room.
Better, several Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students had offered to sit in and offer their own observations. While it was impossible to show them everything in the two months since, they were able to show them the highlights and get them up to speed. Those observations had been rather insightful.
The Beauxbatons students who decided to participate decided to focus on the player interactions and the psychology of them. While the sample size was low, since this was all from Harry's perspective, they had still managed to collate a wealth of data. It surprised her just how much they were able to notice, and it pointed out her own group's tunnel vision.
Then again, they all knew Harry personally, and were understandably focused on him. It was still embarrassing to find out, that for all their own observations, they missed details like that. Hermione prided herself on her attention to detail, and it irritated her to know that she could be just as vulnerable to missing details as anyone else.
It was the only explanation for why they all missed the fact that while things were recorded from Harry's point of view, more or less, it captured everything he saw, even those things he didn't notice or pay attention to. It was more like a camera slaved to his eyes than it was looking directly through them.
Well, not quite his eyes, as the point of view wasn't directly through them, but slightly offset. It was as close a comparison that she could immediately think of. Or, perhaps like a memory viewed through a pensive. It was something to think about, and maybe she could ask the headmaster about it. Maybe they should take an opportunity to do a comparison between the two at some time.
And with the Beauxbatons students having unintentionally pointed out the weaknesses of what she and her own group had been doing, the Durmstrang students were making observations on what they saw on the skills used. They would compare them to actual combat styles they knew about.
They had made many disparaging comments about the early on fighting, noting that only a handful of players knew their way around a weapon. It was very much hack, slash, and pray at first. And while most didn't follow any particular school of thought, even at the higher levels, they did note that the surviving players had learned.
From experience, maybe, and with all the bad habits that entails, but they learned. They learned how to use their weapons effectively, and efficiently. They learned how to be disciplined fighters, and how to operate as groups, rather than as individuals trying for the same goal. They learned, and they survived.
She remembered the observations Victor Krum made about Harry.
"He does not fight the way others do," he said in his heavily accented English. "He uses everything as a weapon. Sword, shield, body... to him, they're all weapons. He is a weapon. That's how he got so good. He knows a truth about fighting most do not learn. He knows that he has to be one with his weapons, a part of them, and them a part of him. That girl with him, Silica? She knows as well. Kirito? Same. Asuna? Almost there. Rain and Lux? They are learning. That is why they are so good.
"Will be hard for them when done," he concluded. "Too much fighting, too much war. They may forget what peace is. May be a bare blade left to rust."
Hermione had obviously made a face at that, because Victor had frowned sadly at her. "I am..." He paused, searching for the words. "This, what they live now, will not make them monsters. We must be ready to stand with them and help them..." He pause again. "You have read Descartes, maybe?"
"Cogito ergo sum," she replied easily. "I think, therefore I am."
Victor nodded. "His flaw was in not taking his 'radical doubt' far enough. He had no grounds to claim there was one self-located in... the pituitary, I think he claimed. Many do not know, but he was a... squib, I think you say. Magical members of his family treated him well. He was a... materialist, that is it. But he also tried to cling to the idea of having one central spot that was the self. But that is not the self. The self is the sum of what we are. The soul is woven of all our thoughts and feelings. We must be ready to... strengthen the right threads, you see? So I can meet your Harry and play Quidditch against him like Ronald keeps insisting I must. We are who will help him be a warrior who can live in peace, yes?"
Hermione nodded. "We will," she replied firmly. "Though Silica may well be a part of that deal as well."
"Oh, most certainly. They are all but married!" Victor agreed with a laugh. "Will be married before long!"
Hermione laughed at that comment. Those two were so obvious, that the only ones who couldn't see it were either blind, or completely delusional. It wouldn't surprise her one bit for them to find a way to get engaged, end up married for some odd in-game reason, and somehow make it stick in the real world.
She heard Lady Shiba mention, only half-jokingly, that Silica's family was already planning on the possibility of that happening.
March 17, 2024 - Unplottable Location, Shiba Compound
Ami's only reaction on hearing that Casals was dead was a small, bitterly satisfied smile and holding her daughter tighter. The smile emerged again on seeing how the man that so fixated on her August died.
Inside, she vowed only to speak of it after the whole SAO thing was over. And only to the select few directly involved in putting down Casals and his lot.
She had no doubt that they would survive. That's what she told herself, late at night rocking Alice to sleep after feeding her. While there was always the possibility that they would die, each of them had a little something in them. An intangible little something that reassured her that each of those kids would get out of it alive and not break.
She snorted as a memory tickled her thoughts, a song Gus had shared once. It had been given to him by that shaman that worked for Canada's magical side. Life is a Highway. There ain't no load that I can't hold- just tell them we're survivors.
Simply put, they were survivors. They would carry their load- the lives of themselves and as many others trapped in SAO- to the end, as intact as they could. A precious cargo, hauled to Aincrad's top floor and out back to the real world. Back to the parents, friends, loved ones, and mentors, into the arms of wives and children in the case of some.
She stopped rocking Alice as a thought struck her. How many of the dead from this last battle had people on the outside who could no longer believe the same thing?
Chiyoda, Empty Park
It had been in the middle of the school day when he found out about his brother's death. He had been called to the principal's office, the mocking words of a few of his classmates following. When he arrived, he saw his father sitting there, stone faced. And when he arrived, the news was broken to him.
At first, he didn't want to believe it, but his father provided the notice from the Ministry of Justice. His father had explained, in that clinically detached tone which said more about his emotional state than anything else, that he had watched a recording of the battle which killed his eldest son, and had identified the remains when asked. All, for the purpose of confirming it with his own eyes.
Shouichi's actions in SAO had finally caught up with him. He knew that the players were planning on taking down the group his brother was a part of, it had been the talk of just about everyone who paid even remote attention to what went on in there. But he had assumed that his brother would be captured, not killed. His brother wasn't so reckless as to not run or refuse to surrender when the fighting was going against him.
The only question in his mind is whether they even gave him the chance, or if it was simply a case of bad luck. He didn't know, and if he were to be honest, he didn't want to. His brother's actions, maliciously done with the knowledge that he was killing people, were now at an end.
He had, quite simply, brought it upon himself. No more than that.
But it still hurt.
A part of him was glad that the knowledge hurt. Glad that he still cared enough about the person that Shouichi had been before SAO turned him into the twisted sociopath that everyone else saw him as. Glad… that his brother's waking nightmare was over.
He didn't know who killed him, only that it was another player. He didn't know, and he would probably never know unless he decided to watch it himself. It didn't matter, though. He had no hatred for that player, someone who was as much a victim of that madman's game as his brother.
And he was glad that the bastard that had led his brother on that path shared the same fate.
He wouldn't seek revenge. He wouldn't wallow in hatred. He would remember the person that his brother had been before SAO. He would remember the brother who always made time for his younger sibling, always had a willing ear. And he would mourn the person his brother once was.
For Kyouji Shinkawa, the younger brother of Shouichi Shinkawa, known as Red-eyed XaXa in SAO, that would have to be enough. It was all he could do.
Dicey Cafe
Sirius sat down at the little bar he had found during one of his wanderings around Tokyo. He was lost in the massive city at the time, though he thought he was in Akihabara at one point. Not that it would matter on subsequent visits. Sirius had a rare ability to always find his way to a place he had been to once before, even if he started from a place where he didn't know where he was.
So yes, he had gotten lost in the massive city. Part of it was simply the fact that he had never been there before, and wanted to play tourist. And do so without his overly polite, if attractive, minders, Selene Carlisle and Kotoha Hanaori.
He didn't mind so much when Chiaki Tani was watching him for the Shiba. Seemed a bit more relaxed than the other Shiba retainers. Though that one flamboyant one, Ryunosuke, if he remembered correctly, was also fun to hang around with. Both of them had taken him to a couple of places to share some drinks before.
The man that ran the Shiba household for the clan, Hikoma Kusakabe (affectionately called 'Jii' by the Shibas and their retainers), had taken to tagging him with one of those scraps of paper that helped anchor the Shiba clan's scrying wards over Japan so his hosts could track him down. Multiple times. He swore five or six he hadn't found fell off him the last time they tracked him down.
He could understand keeping the odd foreign man out of trouble, but it was a bit much. As things were going, he was beginning to wonder when they would simply decide to simply put a collar and leash on him. He didn't doubt for a moment that the Lady had briefed her retainers on his animagus transformation, and it was the very thing Lady Kaoru had suggested in revenge for his antics during James and Lily's wedding.
Probably have Kotoha take me on walks and everything, he thought with some amusement. He had apologized afterward, and she had simply waved it off politely, but he wasn't fooled. He knew she remembered, and while it was apparently forgiven…
He shook those thoughts out of his head as he looked at the bartender, Kathy. When he found the place, she was serving a few customers, while footage from within SAO was being played on a couple of screens. When he asked during his first visit, she pointed to one, and mentioned that her husband, and the proprietor of the bar, Andrew, was trapped in there, and this way she could keep an eye on him, while keeping the place afloat.
"Ah, Mr. Black," the dark skinned woman said. "What can I get for you?"
"Just a scotch, Kathy," he said. "Two fingers, neat."
She nodded and quickly prepared the drink for him. "So, anything new about that boy of yours?"
"He's not my son," Sirius said, taking a sip. "But he's doing well. Had to be a bit sharp with those Laughing Coffin bastards, but it's done with."
Kathy nodded. "Heard something was going to be done today," she acknowledged. "Andrew wasn't involved, thank God, but he was aware of it."
Sirius nodded. "Fair enough." He replied. "I know he's no coward, considering that I've seen him there for a few floor boss fights, but he seems to be happy just being a merchant most of the time." He shrugged.
"And I'm glad of that."
Sirius nodded and took another sip of his scotch before putting it down. "Well, it ended well, though some of his guild mates might need some time. It was ugly, one of those things that had to be done, but… damn it. They're kids, Kathy. They should be worrying about school, finding a boyfriend or girlfriend, going on dates, and what the latest thing is. Not this. His parents and I never wanted him to go through something similar to what we had to." His voice got quieter at the end.
"Sounds like a story there, Mr. Black." Kathy said drily before shrugging. "It's none of my business, though. But I want you to consider this. No one likes it that it's often kids doing all of this. Fighting, risking their lives and all that. But they're doing it to save people. If anything, you should be proud of him for doing the right thing."
Sirius smiled. "I am, and I know his parents are proud from where they're watching," he replied. He finished his drink and looked toward the entrance. He saw a pair enter and grinned. "Well, looks like Chiaki and Ryunosuke have decided to come by." He waved them over. "Gentlemen, come take me back, or join me?"
Chiaki gave him a look that combined amusement and regret. "Sadly, we can't right now," he said. "Takeru wants to meet with you, and we should be at it. Maybe later, Mr. Black?"
"Let me pay for my drink then," Sirius said as he took out his wallet and slapped some yen on the bar.