A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. Sorry it took so long. I've had a really busy month.
Hope you had a safe and fun Halloween. I dressed up as something, but I'll let you guess who I went as. It shouldn't be that hard to guess.
I'll say a few things before we begin: A reviewer has criticized my use of using the Japanese words in the story, and it turns out that he isn't the only one who thought so. So, from now on, you won't see the Japanese words as much as before, but I'll still use them on a few occasions.
And about the recap of the story being too long? Maybe so, but let me remind you that in my story, Asuna's family didn't know anything about Yuuki or the events of Mother's Rosario. I didn't think that Asuna's grief would be as impactful as it was if I had just skipped the retelling of Yuuki's story. Plus, during the recap, her parents commented on Asuna's story, making them understand her pain better, and again, I don't think that it would have been as effective if I outright skipped the recap. So I have no regrets about making the recap in chapters 3 to 6, and I'm quite sure that it'll stay that way for a long time.
But at the same time, I appreciate the criticisms that you've given me. I'll remind you all that this is my first ever fanfiction and I'm still learning about the fanfic progress. So what I hope is that you appreciate my story but at the same time, tell me if you think something to criticize. Just make sure that they aren't too negative.
Alright, back to the story. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own SAO, its characters, or the OSTs. They belong to Kawahara Reki-sensei and Kajiura Yuki-san respectively!
Chapter 14: The Brother's Credibility – Part 2
3:00 PM, outside of Asada Shino's school.
Shino rushed back to her condo in a hurry. She was already planning to head home immediately after school was over, but her rush to get back to her home doubled after seeing the message sent to her by Kirito. She had turned her phone off, like she always did during school, but seeing the content of the messages that Kirito had sent her during school, she really wished that she hadn't, even if it meant getting a bit lectured by her teacher.
School had just ended and it was only then she saw Kirito's messages, which said that Asuna had run away once again and would be heading back to her place, she quickly headed to the bus station to take the bus that would take her back to her neighborhood the quickest.
On her way though, she received a call from someone she wasn't really expecting: Kikuoka Seijirou. She wasted no time in picking it up.
"Moshi moshi? (Hello?) Asada-san? Hello, it's been a while." Kikuoka's voice said from the other end of the line.
"Hello, Kikuoka-san. I know that you probably called me for a reason, but can you please make it quick? I'm kind of in a hurry here." Shino said, a bit hastily.
"I can guess why… It's because of Asuna-san, isn't it?" Kikuoka said, which surprised her that she stopped dead on her tracks.
"How did you…" Shino blurted out before she could stop herself.
"It's alright, Asada-san. Asuna-san is the reason I'm making this call in the first place. I'm well aware that she's currently staying with you as of now." Kikuoka said, surprising her even further. Just how much did he know already?
"Alright, how did you even find out about this?" Shino asked, a bit flustered.
"Asada-san, please don't misunderstand. I only found out about this whole fiasco this morning. Asuna-san's brother called me and told me everything." Kikuoka explained, then he proceeded to tell her what he had explained to Kazuto and his friends a few hours ago.
Shino tried to make sense of the whole thing. So, Asuna's brother, who apparently also blamed his family for making Asuna leave their home, had asked Kikuoka to find out where she is, so now that he did, Asuna's brother wanted to come to her place so that he could at least try and talk with her. But the way Asuna was right now, she really wasn't sure if that was a good idea.
"I don't know, Kikuoka-san… Do you really think that you can trust him? I just saw the messages Kirito sent me, and it looks like her family trying to see her only made matters worse." Shino explained. She heard a slightly frustrated sigh from Kikuoka.
"Kouichirou-san was afraid that may happen… But, since Kouichirou-san seems to agree with Asuna-san on the whole family crisis, I think you should give him a chance to talk to her. Of course, I know that with everything that's happened, you're reluctant to trust him, but give him the chance. If anything, I think it gives us even more reason to trust Kouichirou-san. After all, he's left his home for his sister's sake. I think it's better for the two of them to spend some sibling time together. So, please, Asada-san. You know that Asuna-san can't avoid her family forever." Kikuoka requested.
Shino took some time to think about Kikuoka's suggestions. He was right; even though her family was the source of this whole problem, she knew that she had to go back eventually. Besides, if her brother really did disagree with their parents, than it really did make sense for him to have the best chance of calming her down.
"Alright, he can come over." Shino finally gave the permission, deciding to give Asuna's brother a chance.
"Great. Is it alright with you if I tell him your address so that he can come to your condo? With how Asuna-san is right now, I doubt that she'd want to go outside." Kikuoka asked.
"It's fine, as long as he does manage to convince Asuna." Shino said.
"If he can't convince her, then I'll let you and your friends to do the convincing. I'll tell Kouichirou-san about this as well." Kikuoka informed her.
"Okay. So, when is he coming?" Shino asked.
"Does 5 o'clock today sound alright?" The government agent asked.
"Yes… I'll keep Asuna in my place till he gets here. And I hope, for goodness's sake, that her brother has something good up his sleeve." Shino answered, clearly showing that she was still a bit reluctant to trust him.
"I hope so too, Asada-san. I really do." Kikuoka responded.
"Well, I've got to go, my bus is here." Shino hurriedly said and hung up, seeing that in the distance, the bus that she was looking to get on was approaching the bus stop.
She managed to get on the bus just in time. It started to head toward her home, hopeful that Asuna would be there like Kirito's message said that she would.
After a few transfers, Shino finally arrived at the stop that was near her apartment. She wasted no time in running off towards her condo, praying that Asuna would be there. When she arrived at her condo, she quickly ascended the stairs that led to her room. As soon as she was on the second floor, to her relief, she saw Asuna sitting on the ground beside the door, with her legs folded and her face buried in her knees.
"Asuna!" Shino said, glad to see that Asuna was alright; at least physically.
She saw Asuna give off a slight flinch in response to her voice, but otherwise, gave no reaction.
"Asuna…?" Shino asked again, approaching her and gently putting her hand on Asuna's shoulder. It was then that Asuna finally lifted her face and looked at her friend.
When Shino saw her friend's face, she froze, her heart sinking a bit.
Looking directly into her face, she saw that it was pale and expressionless, but that wasn't the worst part; it was her eyes that made her heart sink. Asuna's eyes… they looked so… void… hollow… empty… They contained nothing… no sorrow, no anger, no pain; not a single emotion. It was as if her soul had been sapped of all emotion.
What was even worse about this was the fact that that empty look in both her face and eyes was something that she was so painfully familiar with. After the post office incident, whenever she looked at her own reflection in the mirror, a face of a little girl who was so emotionally drained so that she could no longer even cry had stared back at her countless times. Asuna's current expression reminded her exactly of those tormented reflections of herself back in the day and it scared her to no end.
"Sinonon…" Asuna murmured so quietly so that Shino barely managed to hear her voice. Her voice was equally hollow, making Shino's worry worsen.
A few seconds passed, but Asuna gave no further reaction. Honestly, Shino was hoping that she would start crying again… it would be so much better for her to cry and let it out rather than look so empty and soulless.
"Asuna… what… what happened to you…?" Shino finally managed to ask. But she didn't answer back. She only continued to blankly stare back at her.
Shino pulled her friend into an embrace, sympathizing with her. After a few moments, Shino felt a single tear silently flowing down from Asuna's cheek to her shoulder. Shino was slightly relieved. At least she still showed a sign of emotion, even if it was a small one. She continued to hold onto her friend and after a few more moments, Asuna eventually returned the gesture.
Inside Shino's condo, April 1, 2026, 4:30 PM.
Asuna had pretty much stayed in the park for a few hours until some people started to come to the playground. Since she was still wearing her school uniform at the time, she didn't want to attract unnecessary attention or people to start asking her questions. So she pretty much spent the afternoon, wandering around the rural parts of the city, making sure to stay out of sight as much as possible and never staying in one place for too long. It was around 3 o'clock that she came to Shino's apartment to wait for her arrival.
Of course, knowing that Kirito and the others would be worried about her, she had to send a message to them to put them at ease; for the moment anyway. She felt guilty about it though… she didn't want to lie to them. She definitely wasn't okay; not after everything that had happened.
She felt so numb… the emotional pain she had experienced recently was unlike any she had faced before.
One may think that after SAO, you would've already suffered the pain of losing someone, but not for Asuna. Yes, she had seen people perish in front of her, but it was only by sheer chance that none of the people that she called true friends were among the perished. She did mourn for the dead during the death game, but they never lingered for too long as their deaths only strengthened her resolve to finish the death game once and for all.
So, being unexperienced with the grief of losing a loved one, had hit her so much harder than she had expected. Actually, she had an idea of how painful it was. She had experienced it very briefly when she and Kirito saw Yui disappear right in front of them in SAO, below the Black Iron Palace. It was only thanks to Kirito's quick thinking that she didn't have to fully experience the horrendous pain. And obviously, that brief experience wasn't enough to prepare her for this kind of pain.
The pain just kept reminding her of the current reality: her sister-like friend gone and her family bonds broken. And a part of her wished that she had been the one taken by death in Yuuki's place, rather than go through with this torment. After all, her life had been spared on a mere whim on Kayaba's part.
Asuna only broke out of her trance by the noise coming from the opening door. Shino came into the room from the kitchen.
Shino again observed her friend. She didn't look much different than when she found her outside only a few minutes ago. She had already changed to a more comfortable attire. But Asuna hadn't done the same. She was still in her school uniform.
Deciding that she really needed to break Asuna out of her mental shell, Shino started trying to talk to her.
"Asuna… I know what happened today at your school. I thought we agreed that you'd try and talk with your parents when you got the chance." Shino said, wanting to hear what Asuna had to say about it.
Asuna took a few seconds before answering.
"Yeah… I did, didn't I…? Well, it matters little now… What's done is done…" Asuna said, her voice still quiet.
"But you can't keep running away from them…" Shino started.
"Then what else am I supposed to do…?! My own mother abandoned me during SAO and I'm just a failure in her eyes! Now that it's all out in the open, there's no way to fix this!" Asuna cut in, throwing whatever Shino wanted to say out the window.
"Huh? Your mother abandoned you…?" Shino asked, not knowing the details on the discussion between Asuna and her father. So Asuna just proceeded to summarize the details about her mother's actions that Shino didn't already know. She just made sure to skim through, because just talking about it was torturous enough.
When she finished the explanation, Shino felt sympathetic but also a bit annoyed at her friend.
"I see… but… don't you think that you're being a little too hard on your mother, though? She did go through a lot during SAO… you might be letting your emotion cloud your judgment…" Shino reasoned.
"Maybe so… but… I've had enough… I don't care anymore… It's all too much…" Asuna moaned.
"Asuna…" Shino tried to say more, but Asuna once again cut her off.
"I'm never going to see them again… I don't care what happens to them anymore…! I…" Asuna was about to get into another raving session. Shino decided to stop her before she went to that.
"No, you do care! That's why it hurts for you, Asuna!" Shino said, trying to snap her out of it.
"Yeah… So I'm going to stop caring…! I can't take it anymore…!" Asuna cried, unable to remain calm.
"So you're going to keep running away? Asuna, this isn't like you at all." Shino said, her face hardening slightly.
"Maybe… but I don't care… I never want to see them again… I don't care what happens to them now…! I wish they'd just drop dead…!" Asuna started to rave again. But before either of them realized, Asuna had fallen to her side on the floor, a hand on her cheek, and Shino was huffing, her right palm stinging slightly. Shino had out of the blue, slapped her friend; not hard enough to really hurt, but enough to stun Asuna and knock her off to her side. They both stared at each other, dazed. Shino was the first to recover from the shock.
"Don't…" Shino started, trying to compose herself.
"Don't say things that you know that you'll regret, Asuna! Don't be such a coward!" The moment Asuna wished that her family was dead, something inside Shino had made her spring into action: namely slapping her friend to tell her to get a grip.
"You have no idea… how painful it is to grow up without a proper family!" Shino declared.
(A/N: Play the OST: Her Actual World)
"At least you have both of your parents with you, even if they're the cause of your grief right now, but me? Do I have to remind you that I grew up without even knowing my father? And my mom's not exactly in a normal condition?" Shino asked, not breaking eye contact with Asuna.
"I…" Asuna mumbled, at a loss for words. She already did know about how Shino had grown up without her father.
"You want to know why I never knew him? I was only a baby when it happened. One day my parents were on their way to visit their parents with me. But on their way, our car got into an accident during the night and our car fell off a long way from the road. I was virtually unharmed because I was fastened to a baby seat, and my mom was more or less fine too, at least physically. But my dad, he wasn't so lucky… He was hurt badly from the crash, but their phones were broken from the crash and the place that we'd been crashed into was so rural that not even the locals passed by very often. And by the time the accident was discovered, 6 hours had already passed. And my mom… she could do nothing but watch… as my dad bled to death during that whole time… And she… she's never been the same afterwards." Shino told her painful story to Asuna, her voice shaking more and more.
Asuna was shocked. She knew about her family's 'unusual' circumstances, but never knew until now of how they came to be that way.
"I… I had no idea…" Asuna said, now feeling very shameful for her mental raving.
"After that, mom's mentality's like… it was like it was reverted back to that of a child's… and after the accident, she got rid of everything that had to do with dad, including pictures. She never once even talked about him in front of me. It was as if she was trying to forget all about him. So for a while, I didn't even know what my father looked like. But my grandparents had managed to salvage some of dad's belongings before mom threw them away. And when I was old enough to understand, they showed me the pictures of him; of him and mom together, specifically…" Shino trailed off, remembering the day that she first saw the pictures of her parents together. In all of them, they both looked so happy together, for which she was extremely glad to see.
"Every time I tried to asked mom about dad, she'd always thrown a tearful fit. So I learned to not bring up the subject, even though I was dying to know. But, inspite of all that, she still loved me. So I wanted to protect her from any kind of harm. And… that's why during the post office robbery, I… I attacked the robber when he threatened my mom at gunpoint. Even if I could turn back time, I would've done the same thing… I just… I just wanted to protect her…" Shino said, feeling her eyes start to gather tears.
Asuna could say nothing, feeling her shame increase ten fold. Then Shino took hold of Asuna's shoulders with both of her hands and looked at her straight in the eye, her expression serious, with some tears still lingering in her eyes, but never falling down her eyes.
"Asuna, just don't say anything and listen to me." Shino said. Asuna only nodded slightly, indicating that she had her full attention.
"For the longest time during my early childhood, I'd always thought that my mother hated my father. That was the only reason I could think of at the time. But, after seeing the picture, and hearing about everything she'd been through, I realized. Mom never hated dad; it was just the opposite: she'd loved him too much… she just couldn't bear the fact that he was gone…" Shino said.
"And it might be far-fetched of me to say this, but maybe it was the same for your mother. Maybe she didn't try to let go of you because she didn't care… but rather because she cared for you too much…" Shino deduced.
Asuna stayed frozen by Shino's words. Shino may have a point. Her mind finally seemed to listen to a bit of reason now. Shino seemed to realize this and continued.
"Besides, comparing Yuuki's life and mine to yours, honestly, things aren't so bad for you. At least you still have a chance make things right again; at least you have a normal life compared to ours! So please Asuna, stop running away from them. Set things right the next time you meet. If not for yourself, then for Yuuki; she would've wanted the same." Shino finished her reasoning.
At this, Asuna found herself thinking deeply. Shino was right. Comparing her life to Shino's and Yuuki's (minus the death game), she had nothing to complain about.
Although, she did have to question one thing: about her mother. Was that really the case? Did her mother really go through more than what she gave credit for during SAO? Did she really care for her more than she realized beneath her seemingly uncaring actions? It was just too paradoxical, looking at everything her mother had said and done. Just thinking about it confused her as well as deepen her sorrow.
Then, the door bell rang. At this, Shino looked at the clock, which was 15 minutes before 5 PM. This could only mean that the person that Kikuoka said was here: Asuna's brother.
"Hang on. I'll be right back." She said to Asuna.
She quickly went to answer the door and sure enough, a handsome looking young man was standing at the door as soon as she opened it.
"You're Asada Shino-san, right?" He asked her. She nodded affirmative, then stepped out and closed the door so that Asuna wouldn't hear their conversation.
"And you're Yuuki Kouichirou-san, am I right? Kikuoka-san told me that you'd come." Shino asked, her expression containing both relief as well as suspicion.
"Yes, I am." The young man answered.
"Alright, I'll get right to the point. Your sister's going through so much right now. You know that much, right?" Shino asked.
"Yes, I'm well aware. And I also know that my father's convincing earlier today didn't do much good either." Kouichirou stated.
"Which is why I'm hoping, for Asuna's sake, that you have something better up your sleeve. And speaking of that, before I let you speak to Asuna, please promise just one thing." Shino requested.
"What is it?" Kouichirou asked.
"If you don't manage to persuade Asuna, then you'll stop bothering her until she agrees to go back home. Let me and Asuna's friends do that. We're the only ones she'll listen to if it comes to that." Shino half requested and half demanded.
"Alright, fine." Kouichirou agreed. Satisfied that she had his word, Shino opened the door again, leading him inside quietly.
Looking inside, Kouichirou could see his runaway sister in the room, much to his relief.
Asuna, who seemed like she was thinking hard about something, didn't realize that Shino came back and had someone follow behind her. Seeing this, Shino decided that she finally let the siblings talk.
"Asuna… look… I know that you may not be up for it, but someone's here to see you." Shino said to her. At this, Asuna snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. Her reaction was predictable. Her eyes widened in shock, not expecting to see her brother right in front of her.
"Hey… Asuna…" Kouichirou greeted his sister, his expression unreadable.
"How… what…" Asuna stammered, unable to put together a coherent sentence. Now that her head had fully registered the fact that her brother was here, one of the people she didn't want to see again, Asuna got up to try and get away. But seeing this coming, Kouichirou blocked her way and firmly held her arms.
"Asuna, don't try and run, because I'm not losing you this time!" Kouichirou declared, his grip not loosening.
"No…! Let me go!" Asuna cried, desperately struggling to free herself. At this, Shino decided to intervene; not Kouichirou, but Asuna.
"Asuna, please don't struggle. I think you should give your brother a chance." Shino tried to reason with Asuna again. Asuna stared at her friend, surprised.
"How do you know who he is, Sinonon?" She asked. At this, Shino inadvertantly avoided her eyes for a very brief moment, but Asuna, who was pretty much an expert at reading body languages, even the seemingly subtle ones, didn't miss this and got the message instantly: she had known that her brother would be coming here.
"You knew… You knew that he was coming here to get me, didn't you?!" Asuna asked Shino in utter disbelief, feeling betrayed.
"Asuna, before you get accusational, let me explain." Kouichirou said, not wanting to delay this argument any longer. Plus, if he didn't do something, Asuna's friendship with the girl present may have been in jeopardy. It worked as Asuna tore her attention away from her friend and to him instead.
"Give me a reason why I should trust you." Asuna said pointedly, her entire emotional senses on full alert.
"One, because I'm your brother." Kouichirou replied.
"Oh, as if that matters anymore!" Asuna snorted, unwilling to trust him.
"And two, I'm in the same situation as you." Kouichirou said, grabbing Asuna's attention.
"Huh…?" Asuna asked, now beyond confused.
"Asuna, the thing is… I ran away from home too…" Kouichirou finally dropped the bomb in the shell. Hearing this, Asuna froze where she was. She'd stopped struggling at hearing this unexpected information.
"You…? Ran away from home…?" Asuna repeated her brother's statement in disbelief.
"Yeah, and believe it or not, I've wanted to get away since I was in middle school… You should know just as I do of just how suffocating it is in our house. But I endured it all… partly for your sake." Kouichirou explained, and Asuna found herself listening intently, especially at the part that he'd wanted to run away since middle school. Her 'perfect' older brother who was practically the pride of the family had run away from home? And he'd been wanting to do so for a long time? Asuna again tried to process this dizzying information. But again, the cynical side of her mind dulled her judgment.
"And why should I believe that? When you've always been the centre of attention and of mother's praises when I've always been nothing but the family's underdog?" Asuna questioned.
It was true; in comparison to her, her brother had passed through his academics with flying colors with no noticeable delays. While Asuna's grades had been top notch as well, the SAO incident had delayed their mother's plans for her significantly, as well as slightly impact her grades in the aftermath.
"You should know Asuna, that the more of that kind of attention the heavier the following responsibilities are. I may have been a gifted student and worker, but even I'm human; even I have limits of how much I can endure. All those responsibilities and expectations on one person, it's too frustrating and suffocating. You agree with me on that, don't you?" Kouichirou asked his sister. To this, no matter how much Asuna wanted to deny, she couldn't help but agree.
"And what I'm about to say isn't something I want to boast about, but you know why I was away from home most of the time? Why I chose to work and rarely come home? It was because of our mother. I chose work over being near her for too long. That's how much I wanted to get away. But of course, I guess I was being selfish in doing that… I should've stayed and helped you bear some of the burden instead of keep getting away. So, I'm sorry." Kouichirou said, his voice clearly apologetic. Asuna listened on in silence, all thoughts of resistance forgotten.
"If that doesn't convince you, then let me ask you this: you know that I was the one that bought the copy of SAO and the NerveGear, don't you? Why do you think that I bought it in the first place?" He asked his sister. Asuna contemplated on this question as she had never given it much thought. After all, she had more important things to worry about at the time, like fighting to survive the swordland and come back to the real world.
"It was to at least get her off my back. It's frustrating to have to deal with her all the time, so I needed a way to forget about the burden, and SAO was supposed to be just for that. But instead, it only led to this… all of this… you fighting through hell, Recto Progress' collapse, the nightmare with Sugou, you leaving home, and everything…" Kouichirou lamented.
Honestly, she didn't even know before SAO that her brother was even interested in games, so it really took her by surprise when she'd discovered her brother in his room with the newly bought NerveGear and the copy of SAO. He would've played it on the launch day, if it hadn't been for the fact that he had the business trip for Recto at the time, and seeing her brother disappointed that he wouldn't be able to play it had definitely raised her curiosity for the unknowns of the virtual world, even though she had expressed her disinterest for the game when one of her juniors of her school at the time had asked her if she wanted to buy it. And letting her curiosity get the better of her at the last minute, she had logged into SAO after her brother left for the trip, leading to her being trapped inside the swordland for two whole years. And deep inside, Asuna knew that her brother had always felt guilty about the whole thing, even though he'd already apologized to her about it over and over.
"So, Asuna, I have a suggestion… I think we both can use some time away from home, our parents, and everything else. So if we're both going to do it, then we might as well do it together. I'll call the school and inform them that I'm taking you for a small trip. So, what do you say? Let's go somewhere… anywhere you want for a few days… Just the two of us…" Kouichirou finally spoke what he had in mind, desperately praying in the inside that Asuna would accept it.
Asuna, for the most of the duration of her brother's explanation, hadn't moved much; her emotional tension becoming weaker with each of his words. She thought over her brother's offer. Honestly speaking, if everything her brother said was true, then she really had nothing to lose. The rational side that was always being dominated by her cynical side finally started to take back her thinking process.
"Then… our parents don't know about this? About what you're doing?" Asuna asked.
"Like I said, I ran away like from home. I even left a letter explaining what I'm trying to do. And if they want me to come back, they won't even try and do anything funny. Just trust me on this, Asuna. Have I lied to you before? Our parents may be a different story, but have I, to you? So please, Asuna. Just let me do this." Kouichirou reasoned. Again, when Asuna thought about it, she couldn't deny that he had a point. As far as she knew, he had no reason to lie to her at all. After all, they both had to endure the constant overwhelming pressure from their family and so they more or less understood each other, and they had nothing to gain by lying to each other. At long last, she relented by slowly nodding her head, to both Kouichirou's and Shino's infinite relief.
(A/N: Play the OST: So I Met Her.)
"So, you will?" Kouichirou asked, hardly able to believe that his idea had worked.
"If you ask again, I'm going to change my mind." Asuna said, with a very subtle hint of joking tone in her response. Kouichirou was very, very relieved at this.
"Thank you… Asuna, for believing me." Kouichirou said to her.
"Don't thank me just yet. I still don't trust you completely; not yet." Asuna said.
"Well, that's good enough, for now anyways." Kouichirou said, still processing the fact that he'd managed to convince his sister; partially, yes, but it was better than nothing.
"So, you said to go to somewhere away from home. What do you have in mind?" Asuna asked. Now more curious than skeptical.
"I was going to let you decide that. We can go to anywhere we want, as long as it's within the country." Kouichirou said. Asuna had an immediate answer to where she wanted to go.
"I think I know where I want to go. You should have an idea of where I'm talking about. We've been there several times when we were younger." Asuna said. Kouichirou wondered what she was talking about, but then an idea flashed up in his head.
"When we were younger? You mean…" He trailed off.
"Yes. There." Asuna confirmed for him.
"Alright, if you say so. The place isn't too far away from Tokyo, so I guess it'll do just fine. Come to think of it, we haven't been there in a long time, haven't we?" Kouichirou asked.
"No, we haven't, which is all the more reason why I want to go." Asuna said, a bit firmly.
"Okay, it's decided then. So, do you want to go tomorrow then?" Kouichirou asked.
"The sooner, the better." Asuna responded. Some time away from home to go to the place in mind sounded just like what they both needed, if her brother was really telling the truth.
"Thanks, Asuna. I'll get the express tickets for tomorrow morning. Meet me at Tokyo Station at 9:30 AM tomorrow. I'll be able to get a ticket for that time." Kouichirou said gratefully.
"Alright." Asuna mumbled.
"Okay, then see you there tomorrow, Asuna. And please show up. I promise that our parents didn't put me up to this." Kouichirou said, emphasizing that fact.
"I'll be the one to judge that, but… I'll be there." Asuna responded. While she was still suspicious, she decided to trust him for now. Kouichirou smiled at this. Maybe things would be okay, after all.
"Then I guess I'll take my leave. Thanks again, little sister." Her brother said, getting up to leave. Asuna only nodded silently. Shino, who saw that Kouichirou was getting ready to leave, also got up to escort him out. She had just silently watched the entire exchange between the Yuuki siblings, ready to interfere and ask Kouichirou to leave if it needed to come to that. But thankfully, that hadn't been necessary.
When they stepped out the door, Shino again closed the door.
"Well, I have to say, Yuuki-san, you did a good job convincing Asuna. I was worried that you might make things worse, but glad to see that I was wrong. Though I hope this trip of yours you're planning does manage to convince her completely." Shino stated.
"So do I, Asada-san. And… thank you, for keeping my little sister safe, and being with her when she needed the help." Kouichirou said.
"Don't mention it… Asuna's a good friend. She helped me when I needed it, and it's my turn to do the same." Shino stated with a small smile.
"Good to hear. Please make sure Asuna comes tomorrow." Kouichirou requested.
"Don't worry, she'll be there." Shino said.
"Thank you again, Asada-san. Then, goodbye." Kouichirou said. He proceeded to head down the stairs of the condo and out he building. Seeing her friend's brother leave, Shino went back into her condo.
There, she found Asuna still sitting where she had been. At least Asuna wasn't looking so blank anymore. If this little away from home trip works, then she hoped that Asuna would be able to face her family again, as well as deal with her emotions.
When she noticed Shino come back in, Asuna asked softly: "Sinonon? I could really use some explanation here…" Shino decided to give her the summary of everything that happened.
"Kirito messaged me in the noon of everything that happened at your school today. I only read it after school ended. I usually turn my phone off during school, and on my way home after reading the message, Kikuoka-san called, telling me that your brother was looking for you and that thanks to the license plate of the taxi that you took to get away from your home, he tracked your location down to here. And, I was reluctant to trust your brother at first too, but Kikuoka-san told me to give him a chance to talk to you. He seemed sincere from what he could tell, so I decided to give him a chance. If he failed, then I warned him to stay away from you until you changed your mind about going back home." Shino explaned.
"Kikuoka, huh? I really don't know whether I should slap him or thank him the next time I see him… Maybe both…" Asuna said dryly.
"Kirito, Liz, and Silica-chan was contacted by Kikuoka-san as well, so they already know that your brother tried to find you. Speaking of which, I'm sure they'll want to know what's going on. I'm going to contact them and tell them what happened. Do you want to speak to them?" Shino asked.
Although she knew that her friends and lover were worried sick, she still couldn't bring herself to face them just yet.
"No… later, but not today. And… I'm still not sure about going back home at all… but… maybe, just maybe, this trip might do us some good, I hope." Asuna said uncertainly.
"Well, only one way to find out, I guess. Go with your brother tomorrow; see how it turns out." Shino advised. Asuna gave a sigh before nodding her head slowly affirmative.
"Good. I'll get dinner ready. You must be hungry." Shino said.
"I know I should be, but not too much… but I'll eat anyway… I guess I'll need my strength for tomorrow." Asuna mumbled.
"Good." Shino said. But she was still curious about one thing.
"By the way, Asuna, this place that you and your brother discussed, where were you talking about? I know that it may be a family place, but I'm curious." Shino asked. Asuna gave a very faint and almost unnoticeable smile, recalling the memories of the place in mind.
"It's my mother's birthplace… and my late maternal grandparents' home… in Miyagi." Asuna answered.
A/N: There we have it. Things are starting to look up for Asuna. Next chapter, the story will focus more on Asuna's parents' side of things. Look forward to them. Thank you for your patience and love! Please don't forget to like, review, or PM.
Next chapter: A Castle of Sand.
Yours truly, KiritoIRL.
