Disclaimer. I do not own Sword Art Online.

This is a work of FICTION.

Story begins shortly after events of Alfheim Online. Suguha's POV.

Sunday, another warm Spring day, and I'm lying on the couch in an over-sized t-shirt I've worn one too many days with my head buried under the pillows. Oniichan is with Asuna again today and ALO is currently down for scheduled maintenance. Although I wouldn't want to play anyway.

It's been three months since Asuna took off her NerveGear headset and since she awoke, her and Oniichan never seem to be apart. Every day, whether it's IRL or in game, they see each other. It's like they're attached at the hip and cannot live life independently from one other.

Annoyed, I turn over causing a few of the pillows to fall to the floor letting bright Spring sunlight dance across my face. I wince as the sudden source of light hits my dilated pupils and pull a pillow up to cover me. My eyes begin to water however I cannot discern from what exactly.

Inside my chest my heart feels like a hot stone. Heavy, uncomfortable, and crumbling, it sits there desperately trying to remain intact. Even when Asuna isn't around Oniichan can't seem to help talking about her.

I barely see him now and every moment I do is filled with his unending monologues about what the two of them did or something he suddenly remembered. Does Oniichan not see the pain he is causing me?

I clutch the pillow against my face as the tears begin to trickle down.

"How could anyone live like this?" I say allowed to an audience of myself.

I'm in love with a boy who could never love me. I believe I'm sane enough to understand that however it hasn't made coping with it any less difficult.

There are women besides me that have feelings for Oniichan. Even though there is only one he has eyes for, the others and I compete for the few seconds of attention Oniichan can spare to use on us. It's awful. When everyone is playing it feels like a constant fight between the group to see who can draw his gaze away from her.

Her.

Asuna.

While she was trapped in her NerveGear unit, I visited the hospital with Oniichan. I thought it would help me understand a bit of what he saw in her and help me move forward. All it did was cause pain and strife between Oniichan and I as my feelings came bursting through my subconscious and into reality.

I just… couldn't accept that this was my life now. I couldn't accept that he loved someone so dearly he had never truly met before. What did she say to him in the game? That she loved him and would carry her feelings into the real world once they were reunited?

"Ha, what a joke," I mumble into the pillow.

"What's a joke?" a voice from behind me calls.

My eyes grow wide as the pillow is pulled out of my grasp.

"What's so funny Sugu?" Oniichan says with a smile and care in his voice.

'Don't look at me like that!' I scream internally. His eyes match my own and I feel as though I am about to be suffocated by the range of emotions suddenly swirling inside me.

Struggling for words I elect to break eye contact and reach for another pillow to cover myself with.

Oniichan extends his arm and grabs the pillow away before I can sink back into the couch, "Come on now it's nearly noon, you can't lay around all day," he says jokingly.

As I flip over to lay flat on my stomach, I realize that I am extremely sad in this moment. I can feel the water beginning to form again in my eyes and my heart slowly starts sinking lower into my chest than before. A few more seconds of silence pass and I gather myself to answer Oniichan.

"Thought you'd be home later," my words muffled by the couch cushion I'm speaking into.

Oniichan sighs as tosses the pillow he was holding onto my back.

"As did I." The remorse in his voice is abundantly clear.

"Asuna got a call from her mother who asked her to come home right away. She didn't say why exactly but just that it was important. Said she didn't have a choice, so I let her leave, but I wish we had more time! We ate lunch at the new café and we were on our way…"

Ahh. There he goes.

I tune out Oniichan's words. I don't want to hear them.

All I said was 'Thought you'd be home later' and now I must listen to the boy I love ramble on about another day with a woman who isn't me. Why am I forced to accept this torment? Is there not a way out of this?

I told Oniichan I'd support him and Asuna but, how can I? Their love is thrown in my face and paraded around as if it's the only thing binding this world together. How can I move on when I'm with him every day?

An endless loop of someone's else love story is being shown to me daily and I cannot break free of it. Searching for a way out has been the first and last though on my mind each day for a while now; how long has it been? I'm not sure I can take much more of this torture but what can I do?

Oniichan already knows how I feel yet he has done nothing to help me move forward. All he does is talk about her!

Her.

Asuna.

Why is she so special? What does she have that I don't? Is it because she's older? Is she prettier? Taller? My mind spins itself in circles as I try to reason why Oniichan choose her over me for what seems like the thousandth time.

I've spent hours doing this, repeatedly, but I just can't find an answer. If I asked Oniichan he'd give me an endless list of reason though I know I couldn't handle that.

My thought train comes to an end at the same place it always does, it's her, it's just… Her. Her being is the problem and it's something that I cannot overcome. Asuna existence is the obstacle in my path. Even if Asuna disappeared, there's a myriad of other women to vie for her spot, myself included.

…

However, I know that I am the furthest from reprising Asuna's role.

But what if it was just Oniichan and I alone in this world?

"…can't be done."

"What can't be done Sugu?" a voice questions me.

…

DID I JUST SAY THAT OUT-LOUD?!

My face burns red as my embarrassment washes over me completely.

"Wh-wh-what are you talking about Oniichan I didn't say anything!" I say in a frail voice while turning over to face him, pillows cascading to the floor.

"Really? Hmm… What was I going on about?"

"Uhm… I'm not-"

"Oh right!"

His quick interruption startles me into silence.

"I just can't imagine losing Asuna, I wouldn't know what to do if she wasn't in my life." My eyes shoot wide open as Oniichan lets out a laugh to finish his sentence, his head cocking back to add dramatics. He steps back towards the kitchen and asks, "I'm going to make some tea, want any?"

"…Thank you." I mutter monotone.

Oniichan's seems to be walking in slow motion as my mind begins to decompress the sudden realization I've made.

What would Oniichan do if Asuna was gone? What if there was no one else? What if it was just Oniichan and I?

He'd be mine till my dying breathe.

No one to compete with, no one to worry about. I look towards Oniichan as he fills the tea pot with water.

All mine.

"Sugu, how much tea do you want?"

"All of it," I respond, as a wild smirk smears my face.

Hello all,

Welcome to Sword Art Onlineソードアート・オンライン: reLIMIT! This is a rewrite of a previous story of mine. Not sure why I decided to come back but here we are. Please leave reviews on how I can improve.

Sincerely,

reYuno

-edit 4/10/20: grammatical errors corrected