A/N: Hello, guys I'm finally back with the new chapter of Mother's Reconciliation. I apologize for keeping you guys waiting for 3 months! You guys have no idea how much I was itching to upload another chapter during the past few months! But at least now, I'm free until my coop work term starts on the 4th of January. I'll still be working on the story during the work term and hopefully the wait is not as long as this term was.

Also, I hope you guys have had a Merry Christmas. I know I have. And seeing that the number of views have increased by 1000 in the past 3 weeks? Right now I have 5300 views, and that's enough for a Christmas present from you guys!

Now, without further ado, here's the chapter. And don't forget to leave a review when you're finished! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own SAO, its characters or the OSTs! They belong to Kawahara Reki-sensei and Kajiura Yuki-san respectively!


Chapter 8 – Remembrance


March 30, 2026, Monday, SAO Survivor's School, 8:00 AM

Asuna approached the school yard, feeling extremely tired. Although she had gone to sleep relatively early the previous night, her exhaustion did not go away even after she had washed herself and ate breakfast. Though, eating probably was a vast overstatement as Asuna barely even touched her meal. Her family and Sada all exchanged concerned looks at this, but remained silent for her sake. When it was time to go to school, Asuna had just exited the house with an uncharacteristically gloomy farewell.

As she entered the school building that had her first class, she started to hear chattering from her fellow students. Unfortunately for her, it was about something that she would rather not talk about.

"Did you guys hear the news? The Zekken… Konno-san… she passed away…"

"What? When?"

"Yesterday."

"I know… I was there when it happened…"

"How old was she? Around our age?"

"15. Younger than us…"

"Sonna… kawaisou… (Oh no… poor girl…)"

Asuna tried desperately to ignore the ongoing conversations between her school mates, guys and girl alike as she proceeded to her classroom, but to no avail. What was more, the absence of the weight that should have been on her right shoulder was becoming more and more evident; unbearably so.

When she arrived at her homeroom, she found Kazuto, Rika, and Keiko standing right beside the door, talking quietly. When they saw Asuna approaching, they stopped their conversation. Rika pulled her friend into a hug, which Asuna gratefully accepted.

"Asuna-san… Are you feeling better?" Keiko asked her.

"Mm… a little…" Asuna answered with a small smile. Asuna unwittingly reached up to her right shoulder, to where the VR Probe had usually sat at her shoulder.

"Maybe you already know this, but… about what happened yesterday, I'm sure the whole school knows. Some of them were even present on 24th floor yesterday." Kazuto said.

"Mmm. I know…" Asuna answered in a hollow voice.

Then, the school bell rang, signaling that class was about to begin.

"Look Asuna, let's talk after school. We'll go to the Dicey Café together, okay?" Rika said. Asuna only nodded in response. With that, they all headed off to their respective classes.

When the first lecture was over for Asuna's class, her classmates had all gathered around Asuna to offer her words of comfort, feeling sorry for both Yuuki and Asuna. Even their teachers had done the same. The process pretty much repeated for the rest of the breaks and recesses.


After school

Asuna met up with Kazuto, Rika, and Keiko at the front gate after the class was over. When all four of them gathered, they started heading over to the Dicey Café together. Understandably, Asuna was quiet for the entire trip.

When they arrived at the café, they saw that everyone else had already arrived. The ones who were present were ones that had been present for the official celebration of the clearing of SAO that took about 6 months ago. Andrew, Ryotarou and his Fuurinkazan guild mates, Suguha, Shino, Nagata Shinichi, Thinker and Yulier, Argo and everyone else that had been present for the celebration were present. But this time, none of them were there to celebrate; they were there to pay their respects to Yuuki and the Sleeping Knights.

As they arrived, the boys and the girls separated into groups to talk with each other.


The boys

All the males in the café gathered together to chat for a little while. Andrew was the first to start it.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time yesterday. I had an urgent business to attend to yesterday." Andrew apologized. He had been absent from the gathering the day before because of the matter.

"It's not your fault, Agil. You should have seen it though… the sheer number of people that came to see her off." Ryotarou said.

"Yeah, it was. At least now, she's in a better place…" Kazuto said, to which the boys nodded silently.

"Anyway, Thinker-san. I read the article yesterday. I have to say though; you uploaded the article pretty quickly. I took about, what, less than an hour to do it after you logged out." Kazuto said. Thinker nodded at this.

"Of course… these kinds of news, people need to hear about it as soon as they can. We have a few more articles posted today and… we have more coming up. Here, take a look." Thinker said, showing his tablet to everyone. The tablet was on the MMO Today's latest news. They were titled: "Thousands of ALO players gather to pay their respects to the Zekken" and "The sad truth behind Zekken and the Sleeping Knights." and other articles titled that had something to do with Yuuki and her guild. In the comments section below the articles, they all contained respectful or encouraging words for Yuuki and the Sleeping Knights. From the looks of it, those articles were the most viewed news for the VRMMO players, not just ALO players across the country.

"Wow… this is incredible. I didn't think even players outside of ALO would care this much for her." Shinichi said, astounded.

"You tell me. But it's good to see that people are reacting like they should be…" Ryotarou responded.

"Just one thing, though. I noticed from the comments that some of these players would be willing to go to her memorial service if they can. So, I wanted to ask if anyone knew where and when her funeral was going to be held." Thinker said to everyone. At this, Kazuto responded.

"I think Asuna will know. She was Yuuki's personal friend after all." He said, looking over to where she and the girls were gathered. They all seemed to be talking solemnly with each other, while Asuna seemed to be doing nothing but listen.

"Oh, of course… I'll ask her later then I suppose…" Thinker said, seeing as his wife was with her and the other girls.

The conversation then proceeded to move on to other topics related to the Sleeping Knights.


The girls

When Asuna took her seat among the girls, they all gave her sad and worried looks. Shino was the first to start off.

"Asuna. I know it's a stupid question, but, are you feeling any better?" Shino asked in concern.

"Mmm… my family's been a lot of help to me yesterday, even Kaa-san. So I'm feeling a bit better…" Asuna responded in a somewhat absent-minded tone.

"And, don't you have the VR probe with you, Asuna-san? I thought the Sleeping Knights may be attending this with us." Keiko asked. At this, Suguha shook her head negative.

"No, onii-chan didn't bring the probe with us. Onii-chan and I asked Siune-san yesterday if they wanted to gather together with us for Yuuki, but she declined, saying that the Sleeping Knights wanted to honor Yuuki on their own. It's understandable too." Suguha responded.

"Yeah… to us, Yuuki was more than just the Zekken or a champion. She was our friend. So Asuna? You do know where the memorial service is going to be held, don't you?" Rika asked.

"Eh? You mean you all want to attend?" Asuna asked, surprised.

"What are you saying? Of course we do! We at least have to say our farewells properly, don't we?" Rika said.

"Rika-san's right. She was our friend. We need to do this; for Yuuki-san." Keiko said. Everyone on the table all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Which reminds me… mina-san (Everyone)? I think you may know this already, but the VR community is in an uproar because of this event. My husband's website has published several articles about the Sleeping Knights and Yuuki-san. And the responses were unbelievable. Quite a large number of readers want to attend her memorial service. So, Asuna-san, would you be so kind to tell me where and when the memorial service will take place? I'm sure my husband wants to publish an article detailing the location." Yulier explained. At this, Asuna stayed still for a moment, surprised. She could feel everyone looking at her, waiting for her response in anticipation. But she didn't need to think much on the response. If they wanted to say goodbye to her with them, then who was she to stop them?

"Alright… I'll tell you…" Asuna said, telling them of the church's location and describing the Sakura trees around the church yard.

"That's where the funeral will be taking place at, but… you'll first have to get permission from her relatives if you're going to do this… I'll give you their contact info…" Asuna informed.

"Of course… We'll be sure to ask them properly before doing this. And if they do, you'll see an article about this soon enough." Yulier answered.

"Okay, then. I suppose we'll all see each other there the next time we meet up…" Suguha responded.

"Looks like it… Let's all make sure to show up. Got it?" Shino added, to which, again, the girls responded with silent nods.

"Nee, Aa-chan… You sure you're feeling better? Because you look a bit pale if you ask me." Argo observed worriedly.

"No, I'm alright… really…" Asuna denied, but her feeble response said otherwise.

"It's alright, you know… to grieve for a friend I mean…" Yolko, the member of the Golden Apple guild in SAO said to Asuna. She was well familiar with the pain of losing a friend as well.

"She's right, Asuna-san… it's not good for you to hold it all in like this… it's alright to let it out…" Sasha said.

"Arigatou, minna… it's just… it's just that.. I already miss her… so much…" Asuna croaked, few tears escaping from her eyes. At this, Rika and Shino, who were sitting right next to Asuna leaned towards her. Rika let Asuna cry onto her shoulder while Shino patted her on the back and shoulder. This poignant scene didn't go unnoticed by the boys either. They could only watch sadly, letting the girls have their spaces.


After some time had passed, the girls and the boys eventually joined together to talk with each other. Kazuto decided to use that time to talk with Asuna privately on a separate table. After that, she seemed to be doing a bit better than before.

As they all got immersed in their own conversations, they all heard a loud clearing throat sound.

"Mina-san (Everyone)?" Rika's voice spoke solemnly. When they looked at her, she was standing at the front of the café with a grim expression to match the tone.

"Today, we're gathered here to remember Yuuki… Konno Yuuki-san…" Rika began.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Survive the Swordland")

"As you all know, yesterday, our friend Yuuki has passed on, to a better place…" Rika said, almost choking. She recovered her composure and continued.

"Ever since we've first heard about her, we've all been fascinated about her, wanting to see her famed skill in action. But as did we get to meet her and know her personally, we all learned that behind this cheerful and exuberant girl, she was harboring a heartbreaking secret, buried deep inside. Even though she was ill from birth and the same illness eventually claimed the lives of her family, and caused much more grief, she never stopped smiling even at the very end. My friends and I, particularly Asuna, wondered how she was able to stay strong and fight against the impossible odds day by day like she did. But, after yesterday, I think I know the answer to that question now: it was because she never felt alone. She had the unique ability to make numerous friends out of everyone she met… and the way she always seemed to be cheerful, we couldn't help but smile with her… That ability to smile even though her life was full of despair and sadness… because she had that, she never lost her smile and cheerfulness, and for that, I can't help but respect her…" Rika said and then paused for a moment before continuing.

"And now, even though she's no longer with us, we, as her friends want to make sure that Yuuki's memory isn't forgotten. And now, she's now at peace with her family, and for that, we can be grateful. Each and every one of us here had a connection to Yuuki, whether from being admirers, or close personal friends. But regardless, I believe it's only right to make sure that we remember and cherish the times we spent with her, because to us, Yuuki was more than just the 'Zekken'… she was our friend…" Rika trailed off. This, everyone in the café couldn't agree more. Rika then raised her glass up high.

"And so, I want to make a toast to Yuuki and her guild… to the Zekken, but most importantly, our friend… To Yuuki…! To the Sleeping Knights…!" Rika said. At this, everyone else followed her action and raised their respective glasses to the air.

"To Yuuki!/Yuuki-san! To the Sleeping Knights!" Everyone exclaimed.


After Rika's touching speech, Asuna had stepped outside for a moment because she felt like crying again. At this, Shino, Kazuto, Rika, Suguha, Keiko and Ryotarou stepped outside to give her as much consolation as she needed.

After Asuna started feeling a bit better, they went back into the café.

"Minna, thanks for being here for Yuuki… she would've been so happy…" Asuna said to everyone.

"Of course, Asuna… like I said, anything for a friend…" Rika responded.

"Also… Liz? That was really some speech… Arigatou…" Asuna said gratefully to her friend.

"Like I said anything for a friend…" Rika answered, with a small, sad smile. Asuna nodded gratefully at that.

"Mm… I think I need to get going… it's already 5 o'clock…" Asuna said, looking at the clock.

"Okay… do you want us to escort you back or something?" Kazuto asked. Asuna shook her head.

"No, it's alright… I can manage…"

"If you say so…" Shino responded.

"Okay than, I'll see you at school tomorrow…" Asuna said, taking her leave.

"Yeah… see you then…" Her friends answered back. With that, Asuna left the café and headed home.


Setagaya, Yuuki manor, 5:45 PM

When Asuna got home, she got to the living room to see that her mother was there, reading something on her tablet. When Kyouko saw that her daughter had returned home, she said to her gently: "Okaeri (Welcome back) Asuna... are you feeling any better?"

"Well enough, I guess… thanks to everyone at school…" She responded quietly.

"We'll have dinner at 6 o'clock as usual. Change into something comfortable and then come down, alright?" Kyouko said, maintaining her gentle tone. Asuna just nodded and went upstairs.

As Asuna changed her clothes, she reflected on her mother's actions minutes ago. She was definitely making an effort to be gentle and considerate, like she said she would last night. It was a start, she thought, for the relationship between herself and her mother still had some fixing up to do. But she would keep working until the day she and her mother would be able to talk with each other openly and smile like they did when she was a child. She owed Yuuki at least that much.


A/N: That's it for chapter 8. I hope that you enjoyed it after the long break.

Here's an interesting fact about the article that Thinker and Yulier mentioned: The article was based on a real incident that happened in Final Fantasy XIV. For those of you that don't know this already, this article was about a player with a character name "Codex Vahlda" who was on his death bed in the hospital and the FF14 community hearing about this and countless other players assembling together across the servers to pay their respects to him in his final moments. This was shown to his family and friends and it gave them some much needed support during that sad moment. What's even more ironic is that this article was released on December 21, 2014, which was only a day after the final episode of SAO 2 was released. I know… very ironic, right? I still remember reading this article only minutes after finishing the final episode and my feels were still fresh when I did. You'll be able to search this article easily yourself on Google, if you want to know more about the details. If any of you guys are a friend or family of Codex, you have my sympathy and respect.

As for the next chapter, all I can say is that something big is going to happen and things will take a dramatic turn starting in the next chapter. You're free to venture a guess as to what will be happening next chapter, but of course, I won't spoil it.

And hopefully, I won't take too long to upload this chapter like I did last time. I'll try my best to not keep you waiting, my beloved readers. Happy new years to you all!

The next chapter: The Devil's Whisper.

Until next time. Yours truly, KiritoIRL.