(A/N: Hello guys, I'm finally back with another chapter.

I'm really sorry for being so late in posting this chapter; I should have posted sometime on May but wasn't able to. Plz don't kill me! My current intern term turned out to be more challenging than the previous ones and ended up taking a lot of my time getting used to it. Plus, I've been playing the heck out of Fatal Bullet, which I enjoyed a lot. I'm really hoping that this doesn't happen again.

In any case, I kept you guys waiting long enough. Read on and please leave a comment on what you thought of it.

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


Chapter 20 - Recollection


As they went into the more urban area in Miyagi, the Yuuki siblings saw that the town streets were decorated in a festive way as well as vendors setting up stands. The people seemed to be preparing for a festival of some kind; and from the looks of it, the preparation was nearly complete.

They had chosen a good time to come to Miyagi, Kouichirou thought. Maybe this festival could keep Asuna's mind off their current dilemma, at least for the afternoon. Plus, he needed to shake himself awake from waking up just minutes ago in the train. And what better way to do so than to be at a festival?

"Looks like a festival is happening here. I guess we came here at a good time" Kouichirou stated.

"Yes…" Asuna said, observing the people busying themselves with the decoration and looking like she was taking interest in the festival as well.

"Let's see the festival after we get some lunch. From the looks of it, it looks like they'll finish with the preparation by the time we finish eating" He suggested. Asuna, thankfully, seemed to agree with him.

"Sounds good; I needed something to distract myself for the day anyway" She answered. Kouichirou nodded, glad that they were on the same page.

With that, the siblings decided to find a restaurant to have their lunch in.


(A/N: Play: "Inori (Prayer)" by Haruna Luna.

In case you guys don't remember, in the opening of the last episode of SAO season 2, a timeskip of Asuna and company spending time with Yuuki and the Sleeping Knights showed with the song "Separate Ways" by Tomatsu Haruka instead of the normal opening. The following is my attempt at doing something similar.)

After finishing up their food and making sure that they have something light so that they could enjoy the food they would buy from the festival.

As her brother had predicted, the festival was indeed opened just in time, as people were starting to help themselves with the festival's activities.

Asuna, who now seemed to be engrossed in the festival, thus forgetting about their current family problem, looked like a child in an amusement park.

"C'mon, let's go see what they have in store!" Kouichirou said, nudging her on. Asuna gave an excited nod and followed her brother.

And so, they went into the festival and started to enjoy themselves for a change.

The first thing that came into view was a stand that looked like a shooting gallery, as it had moving targets, toy guns, and prizes like doll or keychain on display. The siblings took turns in taking their shots. They had 5 shots in total. And the result of the shooting game was that Kouichirou won by managing to hit 4 out of 5 shots, while Asuna only managed 2, as they had expected. Men tended to be better shots than women when it came to guns for some unknown reason. Of course, Sinon was a notable exception to this. If it hadn't been for her trauma in real life, she would be able to best all their friends in a shooting game anytime. Though, Sinon had made great improvements since they first met with each other. So one day, she may be able to participate, should they decide to come to a festival together.

To her delight, her brother had picked a doll that had a striking resemblance to Yui in her pixie form with the notable difference being its hair style. Her face lit up visibly when her brother handed the prize over to her. She thanked him as they walked to another stand to play more games.

Among the many games they played in the festival, they included ring toss, goldfish catching, and many others.

Of course, it wasn't just games they played in the festival; there were also performances of all kinds in the festival like music, plays, and even talent shows; to which Asuna decided to participate and showed off her hidden singing skill, which surprised and impressed her brother as well as the watching crowd. Though, the only regret was that Kirito and the others weren't there to see it.

After buying some festival snacks like takoyaki, fried noodles, taiyaki, they decided to spend the remaining time with many of the other festival participants in the Sakura Viewing event. As fun as the festival was, they couldn't spend the whole day in the festival alone. After all, the festival was just meant to be a distraction for them anyway but regardless, they decided to keep enjoying the festival while they could. The siblings couldn't remember the last time they were having fun like this together, not since they were younger.

Time passed without care for the two for the whole afternoon, with their worries and sadness for gotten for this brief moment.


It was about 4 o'clock when they both realized that they decided that they had spent enough time in the town and decided to start making their way up the mountain. Luckily, the mountain wasn't very far away nor too deep, so they could visit it quickly. They would also able to pay their respects to their grandparents and reach the bottom of the mountain by sunset

As they were walking along the path to their destination, a view that they haven't seen in a long time came within their sights. Before them was water cascading down from above onto the rocks below, resulting in a big pool of water with tiny bits of sunlight reflecting off of it with a river flowing after it making the water shine in some parts.

"Ah! Nii-san, do you remember this place? We played here every time we visited this place after we found it." Asuna reminisced.

"Yup… you were still so little at the time that I'm surprised that you even remember. Do you remember how we found out about this place as well?" Kouichirou asked, to which his sister answered fondly.

"As if it happened yesterday…" She said.


Flashback: Summer 2013, Miyagi.

It was a sunny and scorching summer day in Miyagi as the Yuuki siblings kept on walking, sweating profusely under the intense heat. Although the sunlight was being blocked by the dense vegetation of the forest, the lingering heat was still enough to exhaust the two of them of their stamina. The deafening chirping of the cicadas was a clear indication of the intense heat.

They would have reached their grandparent's house by now, but Kouichirou had taken a road which he believed to be a shortcut only to find out from the locals that while it did lead back to their destination, it would take a bit longer.

And so, the 6 year old Asuna and 14 year old Kouichirou walked on, hoping that their grandparent's house would come into view soon.

"Nee… nii-san? Are we there yet?" Little Asuna panted, wiping the sweat that was trickling down her face. Kouichirou looked at her apologetically.

"We should be seeing their house soon. Just bear with me. Grandpa and grandma's house should be in view any time now" Kouichirou said in encouragement, but it was clear that the intense heat was also starting to get to him as he exhaled, clearly exhausted.

The Yuuki siblings continued to walk down the path, bearing with the heat with the thought of taking shelter in their grandparent's home driving them on.

After a few minutes more of walking though, Kouichirou heard a very welcoming sound that was hard to detect with the cicadas chirping loudly around them: a stream of water. Both were drenched to the bone with their own sweat, so it was like finding an oasis in a desert.

"Hey, I think there's a river up ahead!" Kouichirou said in delight. Asuna; who was also sweating profusely and starting to pant in exhaustion, perked up at her brother's words and started to run ahead towards the stream.

"Where? Nii-san, wait up!" She asked as her brother ran ahead. She desperately tried to catch up to her brother.

True to her brother's words, they found a river that looked like it was deep enough to swim in, but also shallow enough to stand in. To the two in their sweat-drenched state, it was like a gift from heaven.

"Uaa… it really is a river!" Asuna exclaimed excitedly. The two wasted no time in making their way down to the flowing water, with Kouichirou minding the rocks that they stepped carefully.

Kouichirou proceeded to wash his face and neck, where a huge amount of sweat had accumulated. Asuna soon eagerly followed her brother to the riverside, as the heat was starting to become unbearable for her as well.

However, it seemed that she was a little too eager. For when her foot landed right before the river, she lost her balance and started to fall forward into the water unable to stop her momentum.

Kouichirou; with his peripheral vision, saw this just in time.

"Whoa, Asuna!"

"Kya!"

Kouichirou stopped what he was doing to catch her, which he did. Unfortunately, he too was unable to handle the momentum that he had put into his body resulting in the two of them falling into the river with a splash. It was fortunate that the river wasn't too deep, or they might have guzzled a mouthful of water through both their mouths and noses. Besides, they didn't have anything in their pockets other than some coins.

When Kouichirou resurfaced from the cold but welcoming water, he gave his sister; who had also resurfaced, a look of exasperation but also with slight concern.

"Are you okay? A little too eager, don't you think?"

"I'm sorry…" Asuna said looking crestfallen.

He wasn't angry at her by any means of course. Besides, she was too cute to be cross at. But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to do anything to get her back at getting them both soaking wet though. Although thanks to that, their tormenting heat was already forgotten.

(A/N: Play the OST: "School Days with You")

Kouichirou slowly cupped some water into his hands and noting that she was unaware of what he was doing, catapulted the water to her, splashing her in the face and giving her a yelp.

"Eek!" Asuna exclaimed, shielding her face a little too late as she took the full blast of the water.

"That's for being so careless" Kouichirou stated, looking smug.

"Hey, that's not fair! If that's how you want to play…" Asuna said in childish anger, quickly retaliating by using all her strength to splash the cold water his way.

And thus, a friendly water fight began between the siblings; a fun they probably hadn't had in a while. Asuna splashed her brother with all the strength they could muster while Kouichirou only slowed his pace to even up Asuna's odds, knowing that is he went full force against his young sister, she would have no chance. Shrieks and yells of delight filled the riverbed as the two siblings enjoyed their summer days.

When they decided that they had enough, they dragged their soaked bodies out of the water. With how much they were drenched with the cold stream water, the heat probably wouldn't bother them as much as they made their way back to their grandparents' house.

But as Asuna rose out of the water, she suddenly jolted and collapsed back into the water. Kouichirou who saw this, looked at her in concern. Was she that tired?

"Asuna, you okay?" He asked.

"Ow… my… my foot hurts…" She answered, clutching at her right ankle, wincing.

Kouichirou quickly went to her side to see what was wrong with her foot. As he held her foot in the air out of the water, he gave a surprised gasp. Her ankle had swollen a little and was looking red and swollen compared to the rest of her snow white skin. It must have happened when Asuna had lost her balance and fell with him into the river.

"Asuna, did you sprain your ankle when you fell into the water? Your ankle is swollen!" He asked.

"I honestly didn't feel anything until now… it didn't hurt when I fell in. But I'll be fine, really; I just want to go back" Asuna answered getting to her feet, but when she did, she once again flinched in pain.

"You're not walking your way back with that leg Asuna; out of the question" He said a bit sternly.

"Then how are we getting back if I'm not walking?" Asuna asked.

"Simple; like this" Kouichirou said as he picked her up by her arms and put her on his back, quickly able to put her in a piggyback ride position. When he finished adjusting her, Asuna started to give meek protest telling her brother to put her down, but she soon relented and let her brother carry her all the way back to their grandparent's house.

Asuna relaxed comfortably as she had her arms wrapped around her brother's neck from behind him as he was giving her a piggyback ride back. Seeing as she had sprained her ankle; although not too badly, he wasn't taking chances by letting her walk and make the sprain potentially worse.

Now that the both of them were soaked with something other than sweat, the intense heat didn't really bother them anymore. In fact, the heat combined with the sound of the cicada seemed to be serving as a lullaby for her as he felt his sister's head bob up and down drowsily, occasionally bumping into his shoulder.

"Are you feeling better now Asuna?" Kouichirou asked softly.

"Mmhm. It doesn't hurt anymore…" Asuna responded drowsily, followed by a yawn shortly afterwards. It didn't take very long for her to completely doze off as she snuggled onto her brother's shoulder.

Kouichirou smiled and continued to trek towards their grandparents' house.

Well… at least they finally had some fun together after a long time.

Flashback End.


They both smiled to themselves, remembering the fond memory.

"If I ever bring Kirito-kun and the others to Miyagi during the summer, we should definitely come here" Asuna voiced her thoughts. Kouichirou looked at her in slight surprise.

"I brought them over to Kyouto to stay at our grandparents' home a few weeks ago and mom allowed us to go for a change; although, I was only able to bring Rika, Keiko, and Suguha-chan then unfortunately. Hopefully next time, I'll be able to bring Kirito-kun and Shino as well…" Asuna said. But something Asuna said caught him off guard. When his mind processed what his sister had just said, all other thoughts came screeching to a halt.

(A/N: Play the OST: "With My Friend")

"Wait, wait! Did I just hear you right? You're going to bring your boyfriend along to a trip where all of the other companions are girls? Or are they all going to bring their boyfriends along?" Kouichirou asked, his mind suddenly racing a thousand kilometers per second.

"Um… they don't have boyfriends; at least not that I know of…" Asuna said, surprised at her brother's reaction.

"And you're okay with bringing your boyfriend along to an otherwise all-girls trip? Can you really trust him with that? Hm?" Kouichirou asked suggestively, raising one of his eyebrows.

It was only then that it dawned upon Asuna of what exactly the problem was. Having never met Kirito personally, other than briefly seeing him after she was released from the virtual captivity, and just knowing about him through the media, his father, and herself, she had to admit, that her brother knew almost nothing about him, just like their mother. Although the things that they heard about him were all good things, after Sugou, no one could possibly blame him for wanting to see for himself the boy she had given her heart to and confirm those favorable reviews about him.

And hearing that he would be going along to a trip with her friends; who were all girls, probably didn't help on his judgment about Kirito.

"Oh it's nothing like what you're probably thinking, I swear! And remember, one of those girls are his own sister!"

"Most of us met each other in SAO and went through dangerous situations in the game with Kirito helping us out in the end. Some of us would have died if it wasn't for him!" Asuna explained, slightly flustered. Kouichirou listened, understanding, but still skeptical.

"And besides, he knows I won't just let it slip if he does happen to do something strange with them. He'll be very sorry if does, I can promise you that" Asuna finished in a tone that very much reminded him of their mother when she was displeased or angry but tried to hide it. And even though she was smiling, it looked frightening somehow.

"Ah… alright then…" Kouichirou responded, surprised. It wasn't very often that he got to see this side of his sister.

Judging that Asuna probably had her boyfriend on a tight leash, he decided to drop the subject. Though from the sounds of it, Asuna's relationship with Kirito seemed comparable with that of their parents' relationship; in a good way, believe it or not.

Kouichirou started to chuckle all of a sudden.

"What's so funny?" She asked indignantly.

"No, no, I'm not laughing at you. It's just that hearing you say those things about him, I want to meet him and talk with him myself even more, you know? So that I can actually judge whether he really is good enough for you" Kouichirou said. Asuna gave a tired sigh in response.

"Oh, not you too, nii-san…"

"What? What'd I say? I for one don't really have a pessimistic view about him, at least compared to mother. I'm just curious and just want to meet him in person, nothing more. It's not like I'm going to interrogate him or anything. Well, a little bit I guess" Kouichirou answered.

"He's already afraid of meeting up with mom as it is. He's alright with dad, but I honestly can't say what his reaction will be when he meets up with you" Asuna explained.

"Hey, do you think that I'd interrogate him like a police does to a suspect? Just consider it like an interview of sorts; just a few normal questions for him like, if he really does care for you, that's all" Kouichirou explained. Asuna pondered at his explanation and decided that Kirito meeting with her brother would be far better than meeting with her mother, especially after what had happened only days ago.

"Well, then I don't think you have anything to worry about" Asuna answered with a small smile.

After Asuna's response, the two fell into a long and awkward silence with nothing but the sound of the flowing water filling their ears.

Finally, he decided to come to the point. Breaking the silence, he started talking.

"Asuna, let's… keep talking, shall we?" Kouichirou requested, somewhat awkwardly.

"Look… I know that the past few days haven't exactly been… normal, for any of us, because of what you went through because of your friend passing away, and what mother and father were planning to do for us both. I can understand that you're angry at them; because believe me, so am I… But… while I disagree with them, at the same time, I think I can understand where they're coming from… exactly why they did the things that they did, especially mother" Kouichirou said.

"I think we both do… it's the usual, isn't it? To give us both a future she thinks is the best… so that she can forget the fact that she was born to a family of farmers with no reputation to stand out" Asuna answered bitterly.

"No, you don't understand, Asuna. That may be part of the reason, but it's not all of it" Kouichirou stated, causing Asuna to look at him suspiciously.

"Not all of the reason? Is there something else that I don't know?" Asuna asked, her suspicion growing. Kouichirou gave a sigh in response.

"I guess… it's time someone told you" Kouichirou responded.

"Tell me what? No more secrets; tell me what you have in mind" Asuna demanded. Kouichirou gave another sigh before continuing, as if he was bracing himself.

"Mother was always protective of you to the point of paranoia when it comes to you, and she has a reason for that. You see, the Sword Art Online incident wasn't the only time when your life was in danger" Kouichirou revealed, to Asuna's confusion.

"What are you talking about?" She asked apprehensively. Kouichirou gave a sigh before continuing.

"It… it happened only two days after you were born; when father and I went to the hospital to visit you and mother, we found her crying her head off at the doctors, begging them to save you…" Kouichirou continued, still remembering how terrified how he had been at the time, with the thought of potentially losing his two days old sister so suddenly.

"Huh?" Asuna responded, dumbfounded.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Looking Back on Those Days")

"You almost died that day. The doctors said that it was SIDS; Sudden Infant Death Syndrome… and according to them, its symptoms are hard to catch until it's too late… but luckily, one of the nurses had caught onto the symptoms just in time to save you" Kouichirou explained. Asuna was speechless. She had no idea that such a thing had happened. But this was only the beginning for her surprise.

"And I'm not sure if you remember this, seeing that you were only five when it happened; you and mother were out in the city to shop one day, and you were almost run over by a car. But mother saved you just in time. You would have been killed if she was a split second late in throwing you both out of the way" Kouichirou revealed another shocking fact.

Asuna was once again, stunned beyond belief. But her brother was still not finished.

"And… I think you may remember this one: do you remember when you were in elementary school, in your first or second grade? When you were on your way home and the next thing you remember, you were waking up in the hospital?" Kouichirou asked. Asuna racked through her memory to remember what he was talking about. At last, the lost memory surfaced.

"Oh… yes, I think I remember… I was walking home and then… nothing… I can't remember what happened next… Waking up in the hospital is the only thing I remember… Mom and dad told me that I was in an accident of some kind…" Asuna explained.

"Only, you weren't in an accident" Kouichirou interjected, confusing Asuna once again.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You weren't in an accident. Father made that up at the last minute when you asked what happened in the hospital. The truth is… you were abducted" Kouichirou disclosed.

"I was what?!" Asuna asked, shock clear in her voice.

"You were knocked out by the kidnapper with chloroform. And he called home and demanded a ransom from them. When I got back from school that day, I found them busy, preparing the ransom the kidnapper demanded. They were worried out of their minds while they were at it too, and then the police called, telling us that the situation had been resolved, and that you were safe at the hospital" Kouichirou paused and looked at Asuna. It looked like she was trying her hardest to process this revelation, with not much success.

"Apparently, the police caught onto the kidnapper thanks to a passerby who witnessed the kidnapping. But, he still tried to get away using his car with you in it, and so the police gave chase. They tried to stop the kidnapper by barricading his escape route, but that ended up capsizing his vehicle and crashing. The kidnapper died from the crash, but you were miraculously okay. And so the police brought you to the hospital for checkup; that's how you ended up there that day" Kouichirou finished, leaving Asuna absolutely flabbergasted.

"Mother probably didn't want to frighten you by telling you the truth at that moment, so I'm sure she had father make the story up of you being involved in an accident at the last minute" Kouichirou added. Asuna was speechless.

"I… I had no idea…" Asuna stated.

"And well… it should go without saying, but during SAO, mother went through a lot, and that was to be expected… but the thing was, when you were trapped in the game, she… well, she…" Kouichirou struggled with his words, unsure of how to put what was on his mind to words. Asuna knew immediately what her brother was trying to say.

"If you're about to say that she rarely visited me during my time in SAO, and that she acted like I had already died, then you don't have to. I've known all along" Asuna said, leaving her brother stunned in return.

"You… you knew? How… Since when?" Kouichirou asked, puzzled.

"Since I was trapped in ALO by Sugou. He told me about her behavior to make me give up on trying to escape… And… when I woke back up, when I asked the nurses about it, they confirmed it…" Asuna explained. At this, Kouichirou clenched his teeth as he felt is blood boil. He really wished now that he had beaten the bastard into a pulp, as well as lashed out to his parents earlier.

"You have no idea of how much I wanted to tear that bastard to pieces during SAO. I was only holding it because of the fact that he was the one 'keeping you safe' during the death game; even though we both know that he had a filthy motive for doing that. And when I found out that mom and dad were going to have you marry him when you woke up? Oh, I can't even tell you how furious I was at them both" Kouichirou said in a low voice that was doing a poor job of concealing his fury.

"I was really confused when I first heard about it… why mother would do the things she did… be overprotective of me at first, but then later seemingly give up on me… But if what you just told me about her is true, then… I really don't know what to think about her anymore. Was I right about her, or was I making blind assumptions about her? I just… I'm so confused…" Asuna said. Her brother gave his response a few seconds later with a sigh.

"Look… I know that mother had been rather paranoid and overprotective when it comes to you, but I think you should understand now why she had done what she did… she just wanted to protect you, and to prevent those kinds of things from ever happening to you again. But despite her best efforts, you were thrown into the SAO and ALO incidents, and eventually into this whole mess… I'm not saying this to convince you or make you agree with her; I just want you to understand where she's coming from…" Kouichirou reasoned.

As her brother said these words, she started to think deeply. In light of receiving this new information that she had never known before, Asuna started to reflect on her mother's actions in the past.

In the past, Asuna had done everything her mother had asked of her, believing that she wanted to give her a future that she everyone could be proud of. And she had given no complaints about it either; at least not until after she woke up from SAO. But as she reintegrated back into reality after she had awoken, she had noticed the increase in her mother's pressure, especially with regards to her changing schools as well as arranging meetings for potential 'partners'; something that she hated from the bottom of her heart.

But, if her brother was telling her the truth about their mother's past, then becoming paranoid for her sake was understandable, she started thinking.

And now that she started thinking about it, she would have been paranoid beyond belief for her, seeing that she had been put through such dangerous situations more she had realized.

But still, that didn't explain or excuse how she had acted during SAO… She could forgive arranging to have her married off to Sugou of all people, and she could forgive in attempting to switch her school and get her away from her friends. But what she couldn't forgive was the fact that she seemed to have so little faith in her, so little care; so little that she had given up on hope that she would return to them alive.

But then, she suddenly remembered what Shino had said to her the previous day: "Maybe she didn't try to let go of you because she didn't care… but rather because she cared for you too much…"

Those words had seemed contradictory at first, but the more she thought about it, it made a strange sort of sense. If her mother truly had experienced fearing for her life multiple times, then it was not very difficult to imagine what she had felt during her time trapped in SAO for two years… and of her disappointment and heartbreak when she didn't wake up along with the many other SAO survivors when she should have…

To summarize, she was at a complete loss on how to even start to judge her mother. Had she been too quick to judge?

As she was asking herself these questions, her brother suddenly noticed that the sun was beginning to set.

"Let's head back to the inn before it gets dark" Kouichirou said as he stood up and Asuna did the same. They headed back to the inn, neither saying much, as they were both lost in their own deep thoughts.


Asuna and Kouichirou had gotten back to their inn that they had booked earlier in the day, eaten their dinner, and went into the hotsprings (there weren't mixed bathing there of course) to relax. Asuna had gotten out of the springs and gotten to their rooms before her brother and she spent the remaining time thinking deeply on what her brother had told her earlier that day.

Conflicting thoughts and emotions battled inside her mind for a seemingly long time, until it finally reached a stalemate of sorts.

She had to confront her mother again at some point to verify what her brother had told her. She trusted him of course; it was just that she had to see for herself of what kind of an impact her time in SAO and ALO had caused for her mother exactly. But that meant going back home, and she knew that she would have to, sooner or later.

Plus, there was another reason she had to go back to Tokyo: to attend Yuuki's memorial service. She had to properly see her deceased friend off. She took a moment to solidify her resolve, and then decided to log into the virtual world to see if Kirito and the others were online. It would be easier to explain if they met in person.

She reached for her Amusphere in her bag and after checking for the wireless connection in the room, she put the Amusphere on her head and chanted the magic words to enter the virtual world.


ALO, New Aincrad - floor 22, Kirito & Asuna's player home.

Kirito and Leafa had logged onto ALO to meet up with the others after school and update them on the ongoing crisis. Liz, Silica, Klein, Agil, and had logged out a little while ago for the day. So now, the only ones in the lodge were Kirito, Leafa, Yui, and Sinon.

"I really hope that this trip to Miyagi will be a good thing for Asuna-san…" Leafa said in a concerned tone.

"Well, like I said, all we can do is wait. So, let's just hope that her brother knows what he's doing" Sinon answered.

"So now the real question is, when is Asuna-san going to be coming back from Miyagi?" Leafa asked.

"Soon, I hope… If she doesn't, she'll end up missing Yuuki's funeral and that's only two days away" Kirito commented.

"Yes, and knowing Asuna, she wouldn't miss it for anything" Sinon added.

Yui; who had been sitting on top of her father's head in her pixie form, gave a response as she took off from his head to glide around the three.

"She'll be back, Papa, Leafa-san, Sinon-san! I know it… Mama is just sad after Yuuki-san's passing. But she'll overcome it, I know it" Yui chimed with confidence. And as if on cue, they heard someone logging in from behind them. Looking behind them, they saw that it was a very familiar Undine with long and elegant sky-blue hair tied to a distinctive braid that had appeared. Their responses were almost immediate.

"Asuna!/Asuna-san!/Mama!" The four said simultaneously. Yui quickly flew over to the Undine and gave a tiny hug to her face. Asuna reciprocated her daughter's gesture by bringing her hands up to where Yui was and give a gentle hug in return so that she wouldn't accidently crush her. As she released Yui, Kirito, Leafa, and Sinon approached her.

"Thank goodness you're okay" Kirito said in relief, gently embracing her.

"Are you alright now, Asuna-san?" Leafa asked, also embracing her when her brother had released her.

"Yes… I'm fine… I'm glad that you're here… I want to tell you something" Asuna informed. They got to the living room and settled down on the sofa. When they did, Asuna started to explain.

"I really don't know where to begin… there's so much to explain, and even I'm not sure if I understand everything that had happened back then…" Asuna started, but her explanation was vague and the others were confused as to what exactly she was talking about.

"Asuna, slow down; what are you talking about?" Sinon asked.

"I'm sure you all heard from Sinonon that my brother and I are in Miyagi currently, and… we had a talk together, and… well, he told me some of the things that had happened in my family that had me involved, and most of them, I didn't know had even happened… I'll explain what I mean…" Asuna said, seeing that they still looked very confused.

She then proceeded to tell them what her brother had told her earlier that day; of what her family, particularly her mother must have went through during her time of danger. The rest listened on quietly, growing stunned more and more as they heard her story.

When she was finished, Leafa broke out of the stunned silence first.

"My goodness… if what your brother told you really is true Asuna-san, then… maybe your parents really did mean it when they said that they wanted to protect you from danger…" Leafa said quietly, unsure of what else to say to her.

"Asuna…" Kirito also said as he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Asuna… so, now that you know of this, what are you going to do?" Sinon asked.

"That's right, Mama! Your mama cares about you as much as you care for me. So, you have to give her a chance!" Yui chimed in, floating in front of Asuna.

After a pause, Asuna finally answered.

"I know… after I heard what my brother had to say, I've been thinking and thinking… When I heard how she had behaved while I was in SAO from Sugou, I felt so hurt and betrayed… but… if she really had gone through those things that my brother said she did, then, maybe… maybe she didn't do what she did to hurt me; she was just scared that her fear of losing me would come true during SAO… it may sound strange, but I can relate to that… I mean, we all were afraid at some point in SAO that we would end up losing someone, weren't we? It's not that she didn't care; she was just afraid…" Asuna trailed off, leaving the group in silence again.

"And… I decided… I'll come back home tomorrow and confront them again" Asuna declared. At this, everyone else gave a look of intense relief and satisfaction.

"Really, Asuna? You'll come back tomorrow?" Kirito asked, smiling.

"Yes… besides, if I don't come back tomorrow, I'll end up missing Yuuki's funeral…" Asuna responded. The funeral would be held in Yuuki's church, two days from now, which would be on Saturday.

"Oh, that's great, Asuna-san!" Leafa said, relieved.

"I'm so glad that this trip you took actually worked out for the better" Sinon stated, her voice containing similar tone of relief.

"Yes! I'm sure Yuuki-san would be relieved too, Mama!" Yui said. Asuna gave a small smile in response, which quickly turned apologetic.

"I… I'm really sorry for worrying you all. It must have been a shock for you to hear that I ran away from home out of the blue" Asuna apologized.

"No, no, it's alright, Asuna… You were just sad and hurt. No one blames you for what happened…" Kirito comforted her and gently embraced her, to which she returned the gesture. The others gave a small smile at this heart-warming sight.

As much as she wanted to stay in her lover's arms, she remembered that she should log off and inform her brother of her decision to return home and confront their parents. That way, he could arrange for the train ride back to Tokyo as soon as possible.

"Everyone… I'd love to stay online a bit longer, but now that I made my mind to return, I need to tell my brother about my decision, so that he can get the tickets for the ride back tomorrow" Asuna informed. The others understood. Kirito let go of her.

"Alright, then, I guess we'll all see each other on Saturday, at the funeral" Sinon said, to which the others nodded their heads in confirmation.

"Thanks, everyone. I'll see you all soon" Asuna said, about to bring up the player menu.

"Take care, Mama" Yui said as she glided over to Asuna, looking a lot more cheerful than before. Asuna smiled in return.

"Goodbye, Yui-chan. I'll be back soon, I promise" She said, then she finally logged out.


Asuna opened her eyes back in the room of the inn she was staying with her brother. She took a moment to reorganize her thoughts before finally getting up from her lying position and take off her Amusphere.

Just then, her brother entered the room.

Kouichirou, noticing that his sister was in was about to greet her, but then noticed the Amusphere in her hand.

"Hey. Were you about to dive in?" He asked.

"No… I just logged out. I was meeting with Kirito-kun, his sister, and Si… Shino online" Asuna responded, quickly stopping herself from calling her friend in a nickname her brother would likely not recognize.

"I see…" Kouichirou said, wondering if it had been about what they had discussed earlier that day.

"Ne… nii-san?" Asuna asked with firmness in her voice.

Looking at her, Kouichirou saw something in his sister that he couldn't remember seeing before: determination.

By that, he didn't mean that Asuna had no determination; it was that before now, Asuna had been easily intimidated when it came to family matters, especially when something went against their mother's desires. Although, after the SAO incident, she had admittedly gotten better at voicing her own opinions, it still hadn't been enough whenever she faced their mother, or at least not until this January.

"Yeah?" Kouichirou asked.

"I've thought about what you said earlier today… about mother…" Asuna said. Kouichirou waited for her to continue.

"Yesterday, before you came to Shino's condo, she and I were talking about mother, and… well, I won't say much about her past, but believe it or not, Shino went through an incident somewhat relatable to mine when she was a child, and… she said this to me: that maybe she didn't try and do what she did because she didn't care, but… rather because she cared too much"

"If what you said about what happened to me when I was a child was true, then… mom must have been afraid… afraid of losing me, and me being trapped inside SAO must have frightened her beyond imagination… She was just afraid…" Asuna realized. Her brother didn't stop her, so she voiced out her point.

"I know what it feels like… to be seized by fear to the point of being unable to think properly… because I've been through that when SAO began…" Asuna said, remembering how afraid she had been when the death game began as she locked herself away in the Town of Beginning's inn for a long time, until she finally decided to come out, only to act irrationally due to the overwhelming fear and going into a dungeon and almost get herself killed in the process by the dungeon's boss, which led to meeting Kirito for the first time as he came to her rescue.

"I know too well that fear can make people do terrible things. So, now that I know what she went through because of me, I want to give mother one more chance" Asuna proclaimed. Kouichirou's eyes widened at this.

"Asuna… do you mean…?" He trailed off in disbelief.

"Yes… let's go back, tomorrow…" Asuna confirmed.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Reconciliation", in the original pitch that can be found in the SAO: Music Collection)

Kouichirou sat, completely stunned at this turn of events. But soon it was replaced with a splitting smile. He couldn't believe that his idea of bringing her to the place that contained so much memories of their grandparents had actually worked.

"Ar… are you sure? You want to go back home tomorrow?" Kouichirou reiterated, still in disbelief.

"Yes… and besides, I have to go back… Yuuki's funeral will be held on Saturday…" Asuna informed. Kouichirou's smile slightly dropped at this.

"Oh… I see…" He said.

"Meeting her and the Sleeping Knights taught me a lot of things… that sometimes, I have to fight to get my point across… If I keep running away and backing down, I won't solve anything. Plus, I can't go and bid her farewell with this kind of burden in my mind. Yuuki wouldn't be too pleased if I come on Saturday with the way things are now… So… I want to speak my mind to her again" Asuna said, clearly determined. Kouichirou leaned in and gave her a hug.

"Thanks, little sister… for being brave…" Kouichirou said softly.

"And… I'm really… really sorry for putting us all through this, and… for what I've said to you" Asuna apologized, for the harsh things she had spat out at her brother when her emotion was at its peak for the past few days; her brother that she knew had cared so much for her, and the brother that she had unintentionally made suffer.

"No, don't be… I understand" He responded, his gentle tone still remaining.

When the siblings finished basking in their reconciliation, they let go of each other.

"You should get some rest. If you're going to face our parents again tomorrow, you'll need it. I'll be right back; I need to book the train tickets we need to get back home tomorrow" Kouichirou said, getting up.

"Alright… then, good night, nii-san" Asuna said.

"Good night" He said back. He quietly closed the door of their room to head outside.

Asuna lay down on her futon and pulled the cover over her body. It was only then that she had realized just how tired she had been. With the little amount of sleep she had gotten the previous night, along with the day's activities as well as her brother's revelation, she really shouldn't have been surprised.

Feeling a combined sense of anticipation and peace that she felt she hadn't felt in a while, Asuna managed to drift off to sleep within the minute she had laid down.


(A/N: Finally, I'm done with this chapter! Thank you once again for your patience. I will get to writing the next chapter ASAP. Be prepared to be heartwarmed next chapter, as Asuna confronts and reconnects with her mother once again. Stay tuned and see you next chapter.

Yours truly, KiritoIRL.)